http://www.theindicast.com en ℗ & © 2023 Indicast Aditya & Abhishek episodic Indicast is India's first multi person podcast and have been at it since 2005. We will be covering anything and everything that might be of interest to a listener of Indian origin so the topics range from Sonia to Sania. The podcast is a mix of english and hindi and we try to keep it very informal. We usually have a serious discussion and balance it out with lighter topic. So expect a good discussion with few laughs. The Indicast Show acmhatre@gmail.com False India, Desi, Hindi, Bombay, IndiCast, Bollywood, 905610, Canada, India News, Mumbai, Delhi, Bollywood, Cricket, India Politics, India Tech News, Canada Immigration, Canada learning 2025 258 Indicast258 http://www.theindicast.com President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more. President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more. Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 54:20 2025 257 Indicast257 http://www.theindicast.com India's young adults are gambling their savings way in the stock markets. Researchers in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth. This month also saw the birth of the world's youngest dart champion in Luke Littler, a 17-year-old who has darted his way to the top by beating his peers consistently for the last couple of years. India's young adults are gambling their savings way in the stock markets. Researchers in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth. This month also saw the birth of the world's youngest dart champion in Luke Littler, a 17-year-old who has darted his way to the top by beating his peers consistently for the last couple of years. Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 37:40 2025 256 Indicast256 http://www.theindicast.com We pay tribute to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and former Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away recently. In sports, Dommaraju Gukesh becomes the youngest world Chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren. We talk a bit about our new year resolutions, one among which is to get 50 episodes of Indicast out in 2025. We pay tribute to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and former Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away recently. In sports, Dommaraju Gukesh becomes the youngest world Chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren. We talk a bit about our new year resolutions, one among which is to get 50 episodes of Indicast out in 2025. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 38:51 2024 255 Indicast255 http://www.theindicast.com India beat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup. The finals, at Barbados, was a closely fought affair with both sides being on top of the other throughout the match. In India 67 students scored a perfect score in the recent NEET-UG exam to gain entry into medical colleges. Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un get chummy. What does this mean to the world order? And a study shows that fish punish their offspring to cooperate in brood care. India beat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup. The finals, at Barbados, was a closely fought affair with both sides being on top of the other throughout the match. In India 67 students scored a perfect score in the recent NEET-UG exam to gain entry into medical colleges. Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un get chummy. What does this mean to the world order? And a study shows that fish punish their offspring to cooperate in brood care. Sun, 30 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 41:27 2024 254 Indicast254 http://www.theindicast.com Gold prices touched a record high last month. We talk about India's fascination with gold. Jim Simons, arguably the world's most successful investor died in May. We talk about his legacy. And in sports, the T20 World Cup has sprung up some upsets. In personal news, Aditya launches a new outfit for those planning to move to Canada. It's called Beacom. Listen to know more and visit mybeacon.ca to know more. Gold prices touched a record high last month. We talk about India's fascination with gold. Jim Simons, arguably the world's most successful investor died in May. We talk about his legacy. And in sports, the T20 World Cup has sprung up some upsets. In personal news, Aditya launches a new outfit for those planning to move to Canada. It's called Beacom. Listen to know more and visit mybeacon.ca to know more. Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 45:35 2024 253 Indicast253 http://www.theindicast.com India delivers a shock verdict to the Bharatiya Janata Party during the general elections. Narendra Modi’s BJP has done remarkably well and only lost out on the vote by 0.8 per cent as compared to the previous elections. It’s just that the votes were less effectively distributed. But by not winning the elections with a thumping majority means that the opposition will have a voice in the parliament, always a good sign for a healthy democracy. In sports Sunil Chhetri, the legendary Indian footballer retires. And in the animal kingdom, dice snakes pretend to play dead to detract predators. India delivers a shock verdict to the Bharatiya Janata Party during the general elections. Narendra Modi’s BJP has done remarkably well and only lost out on the vote by 0.8 per cent as compared to the previous elections. It’s just that the votes were less effectively distributed. But by not winning the elections with a thumping majority means that the opposition will have a voice in the parliament, always a good sign for a healthy democracy. In sports Sunil Chhetri, the legendary Indian footballer retires. And in the animal kingdom, dice snakes pretend to play dead to detract predators. Sun, 16 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 37:30 2024 252 Indicast252 http://www.theindicast.com How does it feel to witness a solar eclipse? Aditya tells us his experience in this podcast where we dig into trivia and history of this beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Bangalore faces a water crisis. How can a country as big as India deal with water shortages? Generative artificial intelligence is and will remain in the spotlight in a year when countries with a collective population of 4bn go to polls. How does it feel to witness a solar eclipse? Aditya tells us his experience in this podcast where we dig into trivia and history of this beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Bangalore faces a water crisis. How can a country as big as India deal with water shortages? Generative artificial intelligence is and will remain in the spotlight in a year when countries with a collective population of 4bn go to polls. Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 42:25 2024 251 Indicast251 http://www.theindicast.com The Candidates Tournament is among the world’s most recognised Chess contests. This time round India has as many as five grandmasters competing for the top prize. That’s a big deal given that for around 30 years, it was Vishy Anand, the sole Indian grandmaster who represented India. In politics, “washing machine” trended for a while on Twitter in the context of corruption probes which, the opposition argued, can be washed away if one joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. And in business, Tesla scouts sites in India for a big plant. What does that mean for the giant and for the country? The Candidates Tournament is among the world’s most recognised Chess contests. This time round India has as many as five grandmasters competing for the top prize. That’s a big deal given that for around 30 years, it was Vishy Anand, the sole Indian grandmaster who represented India. In politics, “washing machine” trended for a while on Twitter in the context of corruption probes which, the opposition argued, can be washed away if one joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. And in business, Tesla scouts sites in India for a big plant. What does that mean for the giant and for the country? Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 33:00 2024 250 Indicast250 http://www.theindicast.com Florida just passed a bill proposing to ban access to social media for kids under the age of 14. What does social media addiction do to our brains? We talk about the subject which is close to our hearts given that both of us have kids aged ten and five. The great Indian general elections are round the corner. What is the BJP up to? And in the world of cryptosphere, which we barely understand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of FTX, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, gets 25 years in jail. Florida just passed a bill proposing to ban access to social media for kids under the age of 14. What does social media addiction do to our brains? We talk about the subject which is close to our hearts given that both of us have kids aged ten and five. The great Indian general elections are round the corner. What is the BJP up to? And in the world of cryptosphere, which we barely understand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of FTX, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, gets 25 years in jail. Sun, 07 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 42:26 2024 249 Indicast249 http://www.theindicast.com It’s the end of an era. Ameen Sayani recently passed away. His voice lives on. In this podcast we talk a bit about how he started in the radio industry and made a mark for himself across four decades. And he is as humble as they come. Fali Nariman, a doyen of law in India also died. And Open AI recently dropped its text to video model called SORA. What does it mean for all of us? It’s the end of an era. Ameen Sayani recently passed away. His voice lives on. In this podcast we talk a bit about how he started in the radio industry and made a mark for himself across four decades. And he is as humble as they come. Fali Nariman, a doyen of law in India also died. And Open AI recently dropped its text to video model called SORA. What does it mean for all of us? Mon, 25 Mar 2024 14:33:35 GMT 37:53 2024 248 Indicast248 http://www.theindicast.com India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays. India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays. Sat, 17 Feb 2024 14:33:35 GMT 34:15 2024 247 Indicast247 http://www.theindicast.com Deep fake is a real and present threat to humanity. With India's general election round the corner, the government has urged both social media platforms and netizens to beware of such videos. The Ram Mandir is slated to open in January. And in sports, India and South Africa play the shortest match in the history of Test cricket. Deep fake is a real and present threat to humanity. With India's general election round the corner, the government has urged both social media platforms and netizens to beware of such videos. The Ram Mandir is slated to open in January. And in sports, India and South Africa play the shortest match in the history of Test cricket. Sat, 20 Jan 2024 14:33:35 GMT 36:04 2023 246 Indicast246 http://www.theindicast.com After 17 harrowing days 41 men were rescued from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand. It was one heck of an effort. The International Clown festival concluded earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about all things clowning and delve into its history. And the Indian Space Research Organisation has taken off like never before. After 17 harrowing days 41 men were rescued from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand. It was one heck of an effort. The International Clown festival concluded earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about all things clowning and delve into its history. And the Indian Space Research Organisation has taken off like never before. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:33:35 GMT 32:40 2023 245 Indicast245 http://www.theindicast.com Surat's diamond industry has suffered from the prolonged war in Ukraine. Nine out ten diamonds on the planet are polished in the diamond capital of India. But after America slapped sanctions on trade with Russia, workers in Surat suddenly find themselves with lesser work than before. Wages have been hit. Australia lifted the ICC men's Cricket World Cup. Well deserved. And hard luck India. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, had one heck of a ride last week. Its boss was sacked only to be reinstated a few days later. How can the industry be regulated and what does it mean for all of us? Surat's diamond industry has suffered from the prolonged war in Ukraine. Nine out ten diamonds on the planet are polished in the diamond capital of India. But after America slapped sanctions on trade with Russia, workers in Surat suddenly find themselves with lesser work than before. Wages have been hit. Australia lifted the ICC men's Cricket World Cup. Well deserved. And hard luck India. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, had one heck of a ride last week. Its boss was sacked only to be reinstated a few days later. How can the industry be regulated and what does it mean for all of us? Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 33:20 2023 244 Indicast244 http://www.theindicast.com India has a junk food problem. It is a big one. In this episode we talk a bit about why that is happening and some of the science behind it all. And have you tasted the world's fourth best cheese? It's from India. A year after FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm's infamous boss has been convicted of multiple counts of fraud. And India will play Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals. Fingers crossed. India has a junk food problem. It is a big one. In this episode we talk a bit about why that is happening and some of the science behind it all. And have you tasted the world's fourth best cheese? It's from India. A year after FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm's infamous boss has been convicted of multiple counts of fraud. And India will play Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals. Fingers crossed. Sat, 18 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 39:06 2023 243 Indicast243 http://www.theindicast.com Firstly, a very Happy Diwali to everyone. Indian couples are increasingly embracing In Vitro Fertilization, often the last hope for having a baby. While it is a boon for millions of new parents, it is also a painful and demanding process on women. India has placed a multi-billion dollar order on new planes in recent times. Also, what do airlines do to save costs? According to one study by the University of Chigago, life of those who live in Delhi has been shortened by ten years due to air pollution. What could we do about it? And India continues its stellar run at the ICC World Cup. Firstly, a very Happy Diwali to everyone. Indian couples are increasingly embracing In Vitro Fertilization, often the last hope for having a baby. While it is a boon for millions of new parents, it is also a painful and demanding process on women. India has placed a multi-billion dollar order on new planes in recent times. Also, what do airlines do to save costs? According to one study by the University of Chigago, life of those who live in Delhi has been shortened by ten years due to air pollution. What could we do about it? And India continues its stellar run at the ICC World Cup. Sun, 12 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 47:03 2023 242 Indicast242 http://www.theindicast.com It has been quite the year. And some of it has been rather grim. The Israel and Hamas conflict has been deadly. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Closer home, some folks insist on renaming India to Bharat. In cricket, the World Cup is on and India is on song. And Bishan Singh Bedi just passed away. It has been quite the year. And some of it has been rather grim. The Israel and Hamas conflict has been deadly. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Closer home, some folks insist on renaming India to Bharat. In cricket, the World Cup is on and India is on song. And Bishan Singh Bedi just passed away. Sun, 05 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 40:17 2023 241 Indicast241 http://www.theindicast.com The Adani Group has been hit with a bunch of allegations from Hindenburg Research, an American investment firm that specialises in making bets against companies that it considers are overvalued. What does it mean for the conglomerate? Tech layoffs may have made the news but how bad will the impending recession in America turn out? Not half bad is what we learn in a podcast where we try to understand the definition of recession itself. In sports, football introduced the white card. By the way, did you know the colourful and bloody history of yellow and red cards? And Indian women's cricket is in rude health. The Adani Group has been hit with a bunch of allegations from Hindenburg Research, an American investment firm that specialises in making bets against companies that it considers are overvalued. What does it mean for the conglomerate? Tech layoffs may have made the news but how bad will the impending recession in America turn out? Not half bad is what we learn in a podcast where we try to understand the definition of recession itself. In sports, football introduced the white card. By the way, did you know the colourful and bloody history of yellow and red cards? And Indian women's cricket is in rude health. Thu, 16 Feb 2023 14:33:35 GMT 35:38 2023 240 Indicast240 http://www.theindicast.com Once in ten years India conducts a massive exercise to count its population and collect vital data about its citizens. This time round the census, normally a once-in-a-decade-affair has been postponed yet again. Why? We delve into some of the reasons. And scientists in Switzerland have figured out a way to deflect lightning bolts with lasers. Once in ten years India conducts a massive exercise to count its population and collect vital data about its citizens. This time round the census, normally a once-in-a-decade-affair has been postponed yet again. Why? We delve into some of the reasons. And scientists in Switzerland have figured out a way to deflect lightning bolts with lasers. Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:33:35 GMT 27:25 2023 239 Indicast239 http://www.theindicast.com Joshimath in the Himalayas is sinking. With cracks all over buildings, hotels and streets, the place may crumble any moment. We segue into the tallest mountain in the world, which isn't Everest. And back on land some companies are offering employees to nap at work, not an old concept but fairly new among startups in India. And Go First forgets its passengers on the tarmac before taking off. Joshimath in the Himalayas is sinking. With cracks all over buildings, hotels and streets, the place may crumble any moment. We segue into the tallest mountain in the world, which isn't Everest. And back on land some companies are offering employees to nap at work, not an old concept but fairly new among startups in India. And Go First forgets its passengers on the tarmac before taking off. Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:33:35 GMT 35:34 2023 238 Indicast238 http://www.theindicast.com As Covid-19 ravages China, many countries, including India, brace themselves and start taking adequate measures. Whereas the death toll from covid may not be as high as before, Indians in the country continue to find other oddly terrifying ways to die. In related news a report reckons that the most dangerous time to drive on the road is between 6 to 9 in the evening. And since everyone and their cousins are talking about ChatGPT, we thought we may blabber about it as well. What do you make of the newfangled chatbot? As Covid-19 ravages China, many countries, including India, brace themselves and start taking adequate measures. Whereas the death toll from covid may not be as high as before, Indians in the country continue to find other oddly terrifying ways to die. In related news a report reckons that the most dangerous time to drive on the road is between 6 to 9 in the evening. And since everyone and their cousins are talking about ChatGPT, we thought we may blabber about it as well. What do you make of the newfangled chatbot? Sun, 08 Jan 2023 14:33:35 GMT 42:48 2022 237 Indicast237 http://www.theindicast.com As 2022 drew to a close, another sporting legend passed away. We pay a small tribute to Pele who brought football to millions of homes and made it the beautiful game we know of and grew up to. Closer home in India Mukesh Ambani just completed 20 years as the boss of the Reliance empire. And internationally, Elon Musk just lost $200bn along with a few of his peers including one Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a crypto exchange which went bankrupt in November. The madness has only begun as has 2023 and we wish you a great year ahead. As 2022 drew to a close, another sporting legend passed away. We pay a small tribute to Pele who brought football to millions of homes and made it the beautiful game we know of and grew up to. Closer home in India Mukesh Ambani just completed 20 years as the boss of the Reliance empire. And internationally, Elon Musk just lost $200bn along with a few of his peers including one Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a crypto exchange which went bankrupt in November. The madness has only begun as has 2023 and we wish you a great year ahead. Fri, 30 Dec 2022 14:33:35 GMT 36:31 2022 236 Indicast236 http://www.theindicast.com Rishi Rajpopat, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge solved a 3,500 year old Sanskrit puzzle. We scratched our heads to understand how folks like him and Pragg, the teenage chess sensation, who recently won the Arjuna award, function. And in sports, Argentina wins the world cup. Rishi Rajpopat, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge solved a 3,500 year old Sanskrit puzzle. We scratched our heads to understand how folks like him and Pragg, the teenage chess sensation, who recently won the Arjuna award, function. And in sports, Argentina wins the world cup. Tue, 20 Dec 2022 14:33:35 GMT 42:45 2022 235 Indicast235 http://www.theindicast.com The World Cup is round the corner. The world's biggest spectacle is also mired with controversies, some of which we talk about in this episode. A village in Sangli, western Maharashtra goes offline for a couple of hours daily in the quest for a digital detox and in international news, more than 150 people perish in Seoul in a crowd crush. The World Cup is round the corner. The world's biggest spectacle is also mired with controversies, some of which we talk about in this episode. A village in Sangli, western Maharashtra goes offline for a couple of hours daily in the quest for a digital detox and in international news, more than 150 people perish in Seoul in a crowd crush. Sat, 12 Nov 2022 14:33:35 GMT 42:41 2022 234 Indicast234 http://www.theindicast.com After a year-long nap, we are back to cover some familiar ground by talking a bit about the ongoing ICC T20 Men's Cricket World Cup. Zimbabwe and India pulled off improbable wins in the tournament. Whereas players get cracking on the field, viewers place their bets on a number of gambling apps, a rather big business in India. So big that a few agricultural workers in Gujarat recently duped Russian gamblers by accepting bets on a fake contest that mimicked the IPL. And in international news, Britain gets a new prime minister in Rishi Sunak. We talk about British politics, which is in a shambles. After a year-long nap, we are back to cover some familiar ground by talking a bit about the ongoing ICC T20 Men's Cricket World Cup. Zimbabwe and India pulled off improbable wins in the tournament. Whereas players get cracking on the field, viewers place their bets on a number of gambling apps, a rather big business in India. So big that a few agricultural workers in Gujarat recently duped Russian gamblers by accepting bets on a fake contest that mimicked the IPL. And in international news, Britain gets a new prime minister in Rishi Sunak. We talk about British politics, which is in a shambles. Sun, 30 Oct 2022 14:33:35 GMT 34:35 2021 233 Indicast233 http://www.theindicast.com A very Happy belated Diwali to one and all. As COP26 draws to a close, countries make their promises and hope to keep them to make a difference to the worsening climate crisis. Where does India stand? In sports, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. And in a quirk of evolution, elephants in Mozambique are being born without tusks to make themselves less attractive to poachers. IA very Happy belated Diwali to one and all. As COP26 draws to a close, countries make their promises and hope to keep them to make a difference to the worsening climate crisis. Where does India stand? In sports, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. And in a quirk of evolution, elephants in Mozambique are being born without tusks to make themselves less attractive to poachers. Sun, 14 Nov 2021 14:33:35 GMT 28:25 2021 232 Indicast232 http://www.theindicast.com In an episode which is all over the place, we start with what on earth are NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens. Aditya is excited about Air India being taken over by the Tatas. Meanwhile, why are Indians so kicked about their spiritual leaders? In sports, Pakistan is on a song in the ongoing T20 World Cup and in India, love hotels are flourishing. In an episode which is all over the place, we start with what on earth are NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens. Aditya is excited about Air India being taken over by the Tatas. Meanwhile, why are Indians so kicked about their spiritual leaders? In sports, Pakistan is on a song in the ongoing T20 World Cup and in India, love hotels are flourishing. Wed, 03 Nov 2021 14:33:35 GMT 42:27 2021 231 Indicast231 http://www.theindicast.com John Oliver once quipped that cryptocurrency is everything that you do not understand about money combined with everything you do not understand about computers. 70 million Indians do not seem to agree. They have bet on Bitcoins and their modern clones through a variety of exchanges in the country. In this podcast, we talk about the enigmatic new asset class and what do we understand about their, well, cryptic nature. And in other significant news, many congratulations to India for their exploits at the Tokyo Olympics. John Oliver once quipped that cryptocurrency is everything that you do not understand about money combined with everything you do not understand about computers. 70 million Indians do not seem to agree. They have bet on Bitcoins and their modern clones through a variety of exchanges in the country. In this podcast, we talk about the enigmatic new asset class and what do we understand about their, well, cryptic nature. And in other significant news, many congratulations to India for their exploits at the Tokyo Olympics. Sun, 08 Aug 2021 14:33:35 GMT 28:42 2021 230 Indicast230 http://www.theindicast.com Once in four years, athletes from around the world compete for the highest honour. Men and women train in all sorts of conditions in their homeland for a crack at the elusive medal. In this podcast we talk about the young and the old, how India is doing so far, how a Math Phd won a cycling race beating the best, how Simon Biles and Naomi Osaka have put mental health at front and center offering inspiration to all. We pay tribute to Mirabai Chanu who won Silver in weightlifting and root for Lovlina Borgohain who is going for gold in boxing. Once in four years, athletes from around the world compete for the highest honour. Men and women train in all sorts of conditions in their homeland for a crack at the elusive medal. In this podcast we talk about the young and the old, how India is doing so far, how a Math Phd won a cycling race beating the best, how Simon Biles and Naomi Osaka have put mental health at front and center offering inspiration to all. We pay tribute to Mirabai Chanu who won Silver in weightlifting and root for Lovlina Borgohain who is going for gold in boxing. Sun, 01 Aug 2021 14:33:35 GMT 37:22 2021 229 Indicast229 http://www.theindicast.com It is raining Unicorns in India. In just this week, Zomato went public, Paytm sought a nod from its shareholders to list on the stock exchange and MobiKwik, yet another fintech startup, filed for an IPO. While talking about how such companies do things differently, we segued into how some of us handle stress at the workplace and how some professions are incomparable in that regard. Take Danish Siddiqui, a young photojournalist who worked for Reuters. He was killed in an ambush while covering a clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban. In this episode, we attempt to pay a small tribute to folks who work in such occupations. It is raining Unicorns in India. In just this week, Zomato went public, Paytm sought a nod from its shareholders to list on the stock exchange and MobiKwik, yet another fintech startup, filed for an IPO. While talking about how such companies do things differently, we segued into how some of us handle stress at the workplace and how some professions are incomparable in that regard. Take Danish Siddiqui, a young photojournalist who worked for Reuters. He was killed in an ambush while covering a clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban. In this episode, we attempt to pay a small tribute to folks who work in such occupations. Sat, 17 Jul 2021 14:33:35 GMT 23:20 2021 228 Indicast228 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we pay tribute to Doordarshan while talking about the incomparable Dilip Kumar, cabinet reshuffle by Narendra Modi in wake of rising criticism for his handling of the pandemic, the craze surrounding Euro 2020, the soon to be hosted spectatorless Olympics in Japan, the race for the 20th Grand Slam title for Djokovic at Wimbledon and the England cricket team fielding a B team after many players from the main squad were diagnosed with the virus. In this episode we pay tribute to Doordarshan while talking about the incomparable Dilip Kumar, cabinet reshuffle by Narendra Modi in wake of rising criticism for his handling of the pandemic, the craze surrounding Euro 2020, the soon to be hosted spectatorless Olympics in Japan, the race for the 20th Grand Slam title for Djokovic at Wimbledon and the England cricket team fielding a B team after many players from the main squad were diagnosed with the virus. Sat, 10 Jul 2021 14:33:35 GMT 44:58 2021 227 Indicast227 http://www.theindicast.com Kannada went viral a few days ago when Google thought it to be the ugliest language in India. We saw this as an excuse to talk about quirky languages, including one in Kongthong, near Shillong, where villagers communicate by whistling. In other news, Twitter is under fire for not complying with the new IT laws. In sports, the legendary Mikkha Singh passed away. We also have a little question for you in this episode. Listen to know more. Kannada went viral a few days ago when Google thought it to be the ugliest language in India. We saw this as an excuse to talk about quirky languages, including one in Kongthong, near Shillong, where villagers communicate by just whistling. In other news, Twitter is under fire for not complying with the new IT laws. In sports, the legendary Mikkha Singh passed away. We also have a little question for you in this episode. Listen to know more. Sat, 03 Jul 2021 12:30:35 GMT 32:46 2021 226 Indicast226 http://www.theindicast.com In which we talk about the second wave of covid-19 in India, heroes who saved lives, Lagaan's 20th anniversary, Kerela's one bottle one person alcohol rule, the new world Test championship in cricket and education in India. In which we talk about the second wave of covid-19 in India, heroes who saved lives, Lagaan's 20th anniversary, Kerela's one bottle one person alcohol rule, the new world Test championship in cricket and education in India. Sun, 27 Jun 2021 12:30:35 GMT 26:10 2021 225 Indicast225 http://www.theindicast.com Few countries can match India on scale and complexity of a nationwide rollout of any item under the sun. Be it the general elections or the covid-19 inoculation plan of over 300m citizens by the end of the summer. India faces a daunting task but appears to be up for it. Covaxin, the home-grown vaccine has kicked up some controversy. Few countries can match India on scale and complexity of a nationwide rollout of any item under the sun. Be it the general elections or the covid-19 inoculation plan of over 300m citizens by the end of the summer. India faces a daunting task but appears to be up for it. Covaxin, the home-grown vaccine has kicked up some controversy. Data of stage 3 clinical trials have not been yet made available. How are other countries faring? And in other news the legendary Mahinder Watsa, a trained obstetrician-gynaecologist-turned-sexpert passed away recently. He was known for his witty and dry remarks on all things sex. And which is Japan's oldest company still alive and kicking? Sun, 31 Jan 2021 12:30:35 GMT 30:45 2021 224 Indicast224 http://www.theindicast.com A depleted Indian team beat a full-strength Australian line up in what will rank as among the best Test Series of all time. For those who grew up in the 1990s watching India struggle against the Aussies, this was a moment to cherish. A second-rung team of folks as old as 21 years old put their hand up and performed. This podcast is a tribute to those the young lads with humble backgrounds, making it big on the biggest stage there is. A depleted Indian team beat a full-strength Australian line up in what will rank as among the best Test Series of all time. For those who grew up in the 1990s watching India struggle against the Aussies, this was a moment to cherish. A second-rung team of folks as old as 21 years old put their hand up and performed. This podcast is a tribute to those the young lads with humble backgrounds making it big on the biggest stage there is. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 12:30:35 GMT 31:47 2020 223 Indicast223 http://www.theindicast.com Burger King's stock climbed by over 265 per cent soon after its IPO. Breakdance will feature as a sport at the Olympics in Paris 2024. Gitanjali Rao won the first Time Kid of the Year. And finally, do you dare to eat Fugu? Burger King's stock climbed by over 265 per cent soon after its IPO. Breakdance will feature as a sport at the Olympics in Paris 2024. Gitanjali Rao won the first Time Kid of the Year. And finally, do you dare to eat Fugu? Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:30:35 GMT 35:19 2020 222 Indicast222 http://www.theindicast.com The Pfizer BioNtech vaccine was authorised in the UK and the US. The worlds most exceptional teacher was awarded to Ranjitsinh Disale, a 32 year old teacher from Solapur. Dharampal Gulati, owner of the iconic MDH masala died this month. Bob Dylan sold his catalogue of nearly 600 songs to Universal Music. A firm in Japan now sells bullying insurance to cover legal and medical costs. The Pfizer BioNtech vaccine was authorised in the UK and the US. The worlds most exceptional teacher was awarded to Ranjitsinh Disale, a 32 year old teacher from Solapur. Dharampal Gulati, owner of the iconic MDH masala died this month. Bob Dylan sold his catalogue of nearly 600 songs to Universal Music. A firm in Japan now sells bullying insurance to cover legal and medical costs. Sun, 13 Dec 2020 12:30:35 GMT 40:40 2020 221 Indicast221 http://www.theindicast.com Burger King's stock climbed by over 265 per cent soon after its IPO. Breakdance will feature as a sport at the Olympics in Paris 2024. Gitanjali Rao won the first Time Kid of the Year. And finally, do you dare to eat Fugu? Jadhav Payeng, the forest man of India made it in the curriculum of an American school, giving us an excuse to talk about him. Diego Maradona passed away. The Undertaker resigned after a career in wrestling that lasted over 30 years. And a train in Japan barks like a dog to keep deers from being overrun. Sun, 29 Nov 2020 12:30:35 GMT 29:00 2020 220 Indicast220 http://www.theindicast.com The Odisha government announced an incentive of Rs. 250,000 to promote inter caste marriage. Same sex couples tied the knot for a first time in Taiwans mass military wedding ceremony a year after it legalised gay weddings. Meanwhile, in a quirk of evolution, not all of us will get wisdom teeth. And Indian Super League that begins later this month, gives us an excuse to talk about the rich and illustrious history of Indian football. The Odisha government announced an incentive of Rs. 250,000 to promote inter caste marriage. Same sex couples tied the knot for a first time in Taiwans mass military wedding ceremony a year after it legalised gay weddings. Meanwhile, in a quirk of evolution, not all of us will get wisdom teeth. And Indian Super League that begins later this month, gives us an excuse to talk about the rich and illustrious history of Indian football. Sun, 1 Nov 2020 12:30:35 GMT 25:00 2020 Indicast219 219 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, we talk about Pakistan contesting Indias claim for an exclusive Geographical Indication tag to Basmati rice in the European Union. Researchers in Scotland have figured out a way to test if a whiskey is authentic without the need to open the bottle. And an Indian couple in the UK got hitched in a drive in ceremony to get around restrictions that allow only 15 people to gather at a time. In India, meanwhile, the arranged marriage industry has had to change its tune as interviews and courtship move online. In this podcast, we talk about Pakistan contesting Indias claim for an exclusive Geographical Indication tag to Basmati rice in the European Union. Researchers in Scotland have figured out a way to test if a whiskey is authentic without the need to open the bottle. And an Indian couple in the UK got hitched in a drive in ceremony to get around restrictions that allow only 15 people to gather at a time. In India, meanwhile, the arranged marriage industry has had to change its tune as interviews and courtship move online. Sun, 11 Oct 2020 12:30:35 GMT 30:00 2020 Indicast218 218 http://www.theindicast.com The thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League kicked off in the United Arab Emirates. In a string of unfortunate events, Dean Jones died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh passed away too. S P Balasubramaniam succummed to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the infamous Godman, Nithyanand is in exile and wants his own central bank. And a super rat was awarded a well deserved gold medal for detecting landmines in Cambodia. The thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League kicked off in the United Arab Emirates. In a string of unfortunate events, Dean Jones died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh passed away too. S P Balasubramaniam succummed to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the infamous Godman, Nithyanand is in exile and wants his own central bank. And a super rat was awarded a well deserved gold medal for detecting landmines in Cambodia. Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:30:35 GMT 35:00 2020 Indicast217 217 http://www.theindicast.com Shinzo Abe, Japans longest serving prime minister called it a day and Pranab Mukherjee, Indias former president passed away. We talk about their illustrious careers. India and Russia were announced as joint winners at the first online Chess Olympiad when a global Internet outage caused Indian players to get disconnected. We digress to talk about doping in chess and segue into why Thar desert is turning green and why it may not be a good thing. Meanwhile, amid the covid-19 pandemic, the Indian economy has shrunk by 23.9% in the April to June quarter. Grim times. Shinzo Abe, Japans longest serving prime minister called it a day and Pranab Mukherjee, Indias former president passed away. We talk about their illustrious careers. India and Russia were announced as joint winners at the first online Chess Olympiad when a global Internet outage caused Indian players to get disconnected. We digress to talk about doping in chess and segue into why Thar desert is turning green and why it may not be a good thing. Meanwhile, amid the covid-19 pandemic, the Indian economy has shrunk by 23.9% in the April to June quarter. Grim times. Sun, 06 Sep 2020 12:30:35 GMT 28:49 2020 216 Indicast216 http://www.theindicast.com It is that time of the year when we get high on some Ganapati fever. This year though the coronavirus has subdued all celebrations. In this episode we talk about how the festival itself has evolved over the years. In other news, MSD announced his retirement from international cricket. Miles away, Kamala Harris was appointed as the vice presidential candidate from the Democratic Party. And the hunt for a vaccine to beat the scourge is on. Sun, 23 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 31:05 2020 215 Indicast215 http://www.theindicast.com We recorded the podcast on the 75th Anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. The World has come a long way with countries showing aggression by banning each other's apps and internet services. Where is this heading towards? A Splitnernet? Or is it just the Election season in the US. As for our corona story of this episode, we discuss online gaming being one of the industries that are raking it in during Corona. Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 20:28 2020 214 Indicast214 http://www.theindicast.com Indias National Education Policy of 2020, announced a few days ago, promises to ditch rote learning in favour of conceptual clarity. There is more to it, of course. In this podcast, we compare what it was like growing up in our existing system and what it promises to be under the new regime. And in other news, we talk about the worlds largest nuclear fusion reactor in France which took baby steps to begin its five year assembly phase. Expect some science chatter as we discuss the mind boggling project that is considered by some as the most complex engineering endeavour in history. Tue, 04 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 34:28 2020 Indicast213 213 http://www.theindicast.com It has been a while. 4 Years, to be precise. Now under lockdown and nowhere to go, we are back with a new episode after taking a four-year vacation. We yap a bit about what's been going on in our lives before talking about how coronavirus has changed the way we live and behave with others. How has it impacted various professions? What does it mean for love at first sight? What are some of the novel ways in which folks are falling in love all over again? Mon, 27 Jul 2020 12:30:35 GMT 31:17 2016 Indicast212 212 http://www.theindicast.com Brexit will change the course of Britain and Europe in the coming months and years. Dattu Bhokanal, an army man from the drought prone region of Talegaon, once afraid of water, qualifies for the Olympics in water sports. England and Pakistan go at each other in a tightly contested Test series. And what lies beneath Cambodia. Thu, 28 Jul 2016 12:30:35 GMT 24:27 2016 Indicast211 211 http://www.theindicast.com Raghuram Rajan puts in his papers, Donald Trump advances, Kumble is Indias new head coach and Mohammad Ali RIP. Sat, 25 Jun 2016 12:30:35 GMT 21:52 2016 http://www.theindicast.com Indicast210 210 "Make in India" week was kicked out in Mumbai to a mixed response. Modi flagged off the event along several industry leaders. We spend some time talking about TRAI's decision against differential pricing effectively shutting down Free Basics and the reaction to it. Abhishek geeks out on gravitational forces and how it is a BIG thing in understanding the very beginnings of the earth. The other topics include Brendan McCullum retiring, Eagles being trained to bring down drones and BCCI banning Asad Rauf. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 12:30:35 GMT 27:03 2016 Indicast209 209 http://www.theindicast.com The last time we were on air, Sania had won her first doubles Grand Slam title with Martina Hingis. In this episode we talk about her winning her third. But before that we get into Indias urban development minister announcing the first batch of 20 cities to be converted in to smart cities, Delhi's "Odd-Even" policy to counter being world's most polluted city, and the man who almost conquered Antarticas 1000 mile journey alone. Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:30:35 GMT 19:33 2015 Indicast208 208 http://www.theindicast.com Sania Mirza and Leander Paes win Wimbledon titles by pairing with Martina Hingis. In cricket, Bangladesh is on a high and so is match fixing in the IPL. Old Monk, the iconic Indian rum needs some reviving. Iran and US ink a historic nuclear deal. And El Shorty Chapo, the most wanted man in Mexico escapes the countrys most secure prison. Thu, 23 Jul 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:37 2015 Indicast207 207 http://www.theindicast.com The monsoons are back and Mumbai shuts down for a day or two. And then comes a lull. India and Bangladesh agree to swap pieces of land that will redraw the borders of both countries. Myanmar, our tiny neighbor has one of the worlds most persecuted minority known as the Rohingyas. They are circling about in the oceans on creaking ferries knocking on doors of countries to let them in. Wed, 22 Jul 2015 12:30:35 GMT 21:13 2015 Indicast206 206 http://www.theindicast.com More than 2500 people have died in India this summer from the murderous heat. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA steps down after several top officials from his team were arrested on charges of corruption. The Indian ice hockey team crowdsources its way into a tournament in Kuwait. Fri, 12 Jun 2015 12:30:35 GMT 26:46 Indicast205 205 http://www.theindicast.com Iran and America push for a nuclear deal in which Iran will agree to shun its ambitions to make a nuclear bomb. In return, America and other countries will lift a bunch of sanctions imposed on Iran. Chaos in Yemen reaches a new low as the Indian government completes one of its greatest evacuation programmes. Uber launches a rickshaw hailing app and monkeys disrupt internet in Gujarat. Sat, 25 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 31:39 Indicast204 204 http://www.theindicast.com The legendary Australian cricketer and commentator, Richie Benaud passes away. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Owners of NSE listed Indian companies appoint their wives, daughters and stepmothers as board members. And Ecommerce in India is on steroids. Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 37:39 2015 Indicast203 203 http://www.theindicast.com Indias splendid run in the cricket world cup comes to an end in the semifinals. We recorded this on the eve of the finals and we root for New Zealand, a tiny country of 4.4 million. Saina Nehwal is now world number 1 in womens badminton. Rajendra Singh wins the Stockholm Water prize, the equivalent of the Nobel proze for water. More than 750 students have been expelled and 300 people arrested for the mass cheating scheme in the state exams in Bihar. The defense ministry takes cyber security more seriously. In the US, breast milk is being traded in what is a multi million dollar industry. And Shashi Kapoor wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Wed, 01 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:50 2015 Indicast202 202 http://www.theindicast.com In this world cup, Indian cricket teams dug dug medium pacers and so so spinners have far outclassed our star batsmen. We reach the last leg of the tournament and will play Australia at Sydney in the semi-finals. BBC hires a guy who fakes his way into a panel discussion claiming to be a former Pakistani Test batsman. In other sports news, Indian badminton rising star, Srikant Kidambi wins the Swiss open. Down south, a bunch of engineers have figured out a way to power street lamps by harnessing energy generated by vegetable waste. And the BJP runs into further trouble by needling with the Land Acquisition Bill which, we think, needs some needling. Sun, 22 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 27:00 2015 Indicast201 201 http://www.theindicast.com BJP bans BBCs documentary on Indias daughter. In other news, it bans beef in Maharashtra. A solar powered plane takes off for a trip around the world. An in-form Indian team advance in the world cup. With the knock out stages of the competition round the corner, there are no clear favourites to win the cup. Tue, 17 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 22:30 2014 Indicast200 200 http://www.theindicast.com For more than 50 years R K Laxmans You Said It made people laugh and squirm at Indian politics. In this episode, we talk a bit about his work ethic. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party bags more than half of all votes in the state elections and yet continues to remain on thin ice. The cricket World Cup is on and India has won all their matches in the group stages so far. Arun Jaitley announces the much anticipated Union Budget and Aditya tries to explain how India calculates its GDP. Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:09 2014 Indicast199 199 http://www.theindicast.com From what depths of his soul would Robin Williams have scrapped out all the laughter and pleasantries for us, said a Tweet summarising for us the man who spent most of his life spreading happiness through his quirks. RIP Robin Williams. Ebola has swept large parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea. There is no cure, 90 per cent of those afflicted die and the WHO has described it as a public health emergency of international concern. And Why do migratory birds get confused when they over urban sprawls. Please keep sending us your picture submissions and soundscapes. We absolutely love them. Sat, 23 Aug 2014 12:30:35 GMT 31:08 2014 Indicast198 198 http://www.theindicast.com The theme remains the same. For centuries, countries have gone to war in the name of politics or religion. Innocent people have died. They continue to die. The latest on the list is Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was shot down from 33,000 feet in Eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. In the Arab world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria marches ahead with barbaric ferocity. Israel and Palestine have rekindled their old rivalry. In other news, India's new government presents its first Union budget and Brazil hosts one of the most entertaining World Cups of all time. Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:30:35 GMT 47:01 2014 Indicast197 197 http://www.theindicast.com Now that Narendra Modi and his ministers have taken oath, India will hope for some action. While the cabinet may not hit the ground running, Modi has asked all his lieutenants to submit a 100 day plan of action for each of their ministries. The venerable Ambassador car calls it a day. Madhav Mantri, Indias oldest test cricketer dies. Two Indian Americans make history in the annual Scripps national spelling bee competition. We end with the weighty issue concerning a young Irish messo Soprano in London. And thank you all for sending in all the fascinating soundscapes as well as pictures of the area around you when you were listening to us. A picture gallery of each of your images will be up on the website shortly. Sun, 01 Jun 2014 12:30:35 GMT 40:46 2014 Indicast196 196 http://www.theindicast.com The Modi melodrama continues and it need not necessarily be a bad thing. A few months from now, he will be judged on different parameters. For now, his speeches are drawing applauses and tears. At about this time, last month, miles away in another continent, Iraq, too, conducted what was a mostly peaceful national elections. Hats off to people who came out to vote in a country where walking on the street, on some days, is as dangerous as straddling the India Pakistan border. As the Eurpoean Union bans mangoes, we get to have a little more of them at cheaper rates in India. Gulzar wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award and Russi Mody, the great manager from the Tata family dies. Mon, 26 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 36:15 2014 195 Indicast195 http://www.theindicast.com In arguably the biggest day in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, after spending a decade in opposition, has swept into power. The margin of victory is so huge that it has reduced Congress to a negligible force in the parliament. Most of India has welcomed the long awaited change. And yet a sizable chunk, views his appointment with scepticism, and some, even with fear. They, rightly, point to the 2001 Gujarat riots that happened when he was the states chief minister. In this episode, we spoke to a few construction workers, a rickshaw wala, a shopkeeper and a businessman and asked their opinion on Indias new political order. After playing second fiddle for years, the BJP and Modi deserve all the adulation that comes their way. But after the celebrations get over and when the boozy supporters go home, Modi will have to, at once, saddle up and take charge of a country that deserves better from its leaders. We wish him well. Sun, 18 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 34:41 2014 Indicast194 194 http://www.theindicast.com While the general elections in India was marred by violence at two venues, Afghanistan conducted a peaceful elections earlier in April. Capital punishment in Egypt reached new heights when one of its courts condemned more than six hundred people to death penalty. A new earthlike plant has been discovered, but it is still many light years away. Rajeev Suri will head the new Nokia. Chinese schools feel the pressure of Olympic babies and Shakespeare turned 450 late last month. Wed, 07 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 35:24 2014 193 Indicast193 http://www.theindicast.com The death toll of this podcast runs in hundreds. An avalanche has killed sixteen Sherpas on Mount Everest. Russia continues to flex its muscles to scare tiny Ukraine as the West and the EU watch on. In South Korea a ferry capsizes killing more than 300 onboard. The country also faces a suicide epidemic. In Syria, four French journalists have been freed after ten months of captivity. And RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:30:35 GMT 36:37 2014 192 Indicast192 http://www.theindicast.com Once in five years India breaks its own record of successfully conducting the worlds biggest general elections. In this one we doff our topis to Indias election commission. In related news, two new books on Congress give us a glimpse of what Dr Manmohan Singh went through in his two terms. We talk a bit about where he will go from now. Aditya narrates a list of interesting candidates that the elections have thrown up including the usual suspects like Mr. LK Adwani, who will contest yet again at 86. We round it off with some superstitions that our politicians like to obey and how, after relentless efforts, India is finally polio free. Sun, 20 Apr 2014 12:30:35 GMT 29:42 2014 191 Indicast191 http://www.theindicast.com The case of the missing plane gets mysterious by the day. Twenty six countries including India are involved in search operations. Subrata Roy, owner of Sahara Parivar pulls off a multi-crore scam which lands him in jail. The general election voting season kicks off soon and IPL, which is scheduled around the elections will be played in two countries. Before signing off, Aditya regales us with updates on his two month old kid. Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:30:35 GMT 20:42 2014 190 Indicast190 http://www.theindicast.com Arvind Kejriwals life in the fast lane came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday. Another star who stole the show a few weeks back was Rahul Gandhi. His impeccably eventful performance on his first big TV interview baffled one and all. In sports, we have the Sochi Olympics, IPL auctions, England cricket woes and Indias tours New Zealand. And oh Aditya is now a brand new daddy. Hurray! Mon, 17 Feb 2014 12:30:35 GMT 25:48 2013 189 Indicast189 http://www.theindicast.com In sports, everyone loves a good contest. And when Magnus Carlsen, the 22 year old Norwegian prodigy beat Vishy Anand, chess entered a new era. In this podcast we talk about how these giants of the game prepare to get there. Another prodigy, Prithvi Shaw smashed 546 in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Indias first rocket launch from Thumba, a small hamlet in south India. And of course, some Ashes updates right at the end. Tue, 26 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 27:28 2013 188 Indicast188 http://www.theindicast.com Statisticians love to debate about whether Sachin Tendulkar is indeed the best batsmen that the game has ever seen. Perhaps not. He ranks 29th according to one analysis. But Sachin has captured the imaginations of world cricket like no other player. In India he is revered for his performances on and off the field. As he calls curtains on a glorious career, we look back at his exploits with the bat including the stroke filled 74 at the Wankhede. We were there. At the stadium. And it was a joy to watch him regain some of his lost touch. Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 21:23 2013 187 Indicast187 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, we talk about Manna Dey, one of the greatest singers known to us. In sports, Ajit Agarkar retires. Aditya talks about his experience of watching Sachin get out in the 90s at the Wankhede stadium as he prepares to play his last two Tests. In Australia, tree leaves can offer clues for spotting gold deposits and why voting cannot us any good, says an MP. Thu, 07 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 25:46 2013 186 Indicast186 http://www.theindicast.com With Telangana fast tracked into another state, we found an excuse to talk a bit about the history of Indias princely states and how the country was formed as an amalgamation of more than 500 mini states ruled by princes. In cricket, India whitewashes Zimbabwe while the IPL runs into further mess. Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:30:35 GMT 23:18 2013 185 Indicast185 http://www.theindicast.com The week started off with the shocking news of kids in Bihar dying from eating food that was cooked in utensils previously used for storing insecticides. The mid day meal program from across India has mixed reviews, but this episode highlights how, when it comes to even the bare essentials, we are way off. In other news, Britains royal baby tumbled forth, the great Arun Bose of Bose speakers passes away and Indian Badminton league makes a debut. Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:30:35 GMT 22:34 2013 184 Indicast184 http://www.theindicast.com A lot of water has flown under the bridge since we recorded a podcast last time. Uttarakhand remains buried, telegram is dead, Murray has won the Wimbledon, Modi is slammed for wishing happy Ramadan to a few of his Muslim friends and a bloke from Rajasthan gets himself a hall ticket with Barack Obama's picture on it. Thu, 18 Jul 2013 12:30:35 GMT 24:15 2013 183 Indicast183 http://www.theindicast.com One of the most versatile actors of his time, Pran was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke award earlier this month. India makes progress to get its polio erradication certificate from the WHO. A single man cultivates an entire forest in Assam. His name is Jadav Peyang. And the most expensive dog fetches close to a million pounds in UK. Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:30:35 GMT 15:15 2013 182 Indicast182 http://www.theindicast.com With Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Jadeja, Dhoni all getting their personal bests, all seems well with Indian cricket. For now. Sanjay Dutt has been ordered to serve his time in prison. A new pope gets appointed and Bill Gates floats a 100,000 USD grant for anyone who can come up with a next generation condom. Also, tell us what you think of our new website. Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:30:35 GMT 17:26 2013 181 Indicast181 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we talk about the Hyderabad blasts, the successful launch of a PSLV by ISRO and Fauja Singh, the 101 year old running his last marathon. Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:30:35 GMT 13:00 2013 180 Indicast180 http://www.theindicast.com Sorry about the radio silence. In this long coming episode and the first one of 2013, we talk about the Maha Kumbh mela, changing rape laws and the perpetual peace talks that continue with our friendly neighbour inspite of the cross border firings and the most recent brutal killing of Jawans on the front. Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:30:35 GMT 13:00 2012 179 Indicast179 http://www.theindicast.com A spate of rape cases show up on the radar as media mercifully covers the most recent gang rape of a 23 year old woman in Delhi. All politicians including the home minister and the prime minster make a mockery of themselves by reading out prepared statements or making careless remarks on television. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi gets elected for third time in a row. In sports, Sachin Tendulkar retires from One Day Internationals. And DARPA comes up with a magic foam to help army men in rescue operations. Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:18 2012 178 Indicast178 http://www.theindicast.com Pandit Ravi Shankar passes away. The great man was a bundle of energy and had performed on stage with his daughter in the US at the ripe age of 94. Text messaging turns 20. Saudi Arabia adds SMS tracking of wives to its increasingly long list of injustice towards women. At a village in Bihar, a local committee has banned women from carrying mobile phones. The Panchayat believes that this will lead to fewer elopements. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:30:35 +0000 15:17 2012 177 Indicast177 http://www.theindicast.com This week, the Lok Sabha gives a green signal for allowing FDI in retail. Bihar pulls off an amazing track record of growth by beating Maharashtra and Gujarat. In sports, Ricky Ponting retires and Freddie Flintoff takes to boxing. Sachin finally gets a fifty after his worst slump in two decades. The Kabbadi world cup is being played in Punjab. And a weed wacking robot from two Stanford trained engineers trawls lettuce fields, identifies weeds and kills them using a concentrated dose of fertilisers. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 2012 176 Indicast176 http://www.theindicast.com Four years after the grisly event, Ajmal Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. In international news, Israel pummels Gaza for eight straight days. More than 140 Palestinians were killed before a cease fire came into effect. Somewhere on this planet, a few people still believe that the world will come to an end this December and hope to seek refuge near a hill in France. The French authorities, fearing commotion have blocked entry to the venue. And a bunch of folks at Carnegie Mellon Robotics institute have devised a way for us to drive safely during a thunderstorm. Their smart headlights illuminate the road and not the rain drops. Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 23:01 2012 175 Indicast175 http://www.theindicast.com The man had a mafia like control over the city so much that he had it change its name because he did not like it. In this podcast we talk a bit about Bal Thackerays beginnings, his quirks, agendas and of course his legendary oratorical skills. In other political news, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to lead the Congress poll campaign in the upcoming 2014 general elections. In some happy news, a bunch of doctors from University of Michigan claim to have devised a pacemaker which can be powered by the motion of heart beats. Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:49 2012 174 Indicast174 http://www.theindicast.com The greatest spectacle on the American soil comes to an end and Barack Obama wins it for the second time. But we are more interested in George Bush Jr accidentally voting for Obama. Back home, Arvind Kejriwal tops the popularity charts on all news channels and newspapers. Vijay Mallya sells off a majority stake in his spirit business in the hope to rescue his airline company. And Happy Diwali to everyone. Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:51 2012 172 Indicast173 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we talk about the alleged sweetheart deal bewtween haryana government, DLF and Shri Robert Vadra. Many knew about it but only Arvind Kejriwal decided to talk about it. The other topcis include the NSE crash, Nobel prize winners and a couple of listener emails. Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:30:35 GMT 28:15 2012 172 Indicast172 http://www.theindicast.com It takes time. Justice. In India. The verdict for 2002 Gujarat riots is out. 32 people have been sentenced to life. Similarly, supreme court upholds Kasabs death sentence, but apparently he can appeal yet again. In other news, our prime minister makes it to the cover pages of many a newspaper. Washington post and the Wall Street Journal have called him names and the Congress demands an apology from these publications. At the Paralympics, Girisha Nagarajegowda wins us a silver medal in long jump. Another 15 year old Brit smashes the world record in swimming. In cricket, India beat New Zealand 2 0. Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:15 2012 171 Indicast171 http://www.theindicast.com Lance Armstrong, fed up with the allegations that have hounded him for more than a decade, decided not to contest the doping charges. He has been stripped of his seven Tour-de-France titles. We talk about him and another legend who passed away in the previous week, Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Closer home in India, the prime minister Dr Singh has been hammered with a zillion questions from BJP, the opposition party. In reply, he muttered an urdu verse which hints that his silence is his biggest answer. Great help. A K Hangal, the grandfather of Bollywood died at 98. In sports, VVS Laxman retires and India under 19 wins the world cup for the third time. Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2012 170 Indicast170 http://bit.ly/indicast170 While India was celebrating its 65th Independence Day Assam was burning. More than 400,000 thousand have been displayed due to ethnic clashes. The problems also spread to Mumbai when a group agitation turned violent. In several incidents people from north east were attacked in cities like Pune and Bangalore. In other news, Olympics concluded with India winning its largest medal tally so far. Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 34:00 2012 169 Indicast169 http://bit.ly/indicast169 Indias Olympic games report card has four medals to show. In the 100 meter race, Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the fastest race ever run where seven out of the eight runners passed the finish line in less than ten seconds. The big news this week was about American sending an unmanned rover named Curiosity on Mars. In this podcast, two commerce brains try to explain the whole science behind the landmark landing. Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:00 2012 168 Indicast168 http://bit.ly/indicast168 Last week 10 per cent of all mankind took a nap. Most of India suffered a coordinated power failure which put about 600 million people in darkness. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat offered help. It came at a price. In other news, Aditya brings up an interesting case study in market research. NDTV is miffed with Nielsen after the market research company allegedly tampered with the TAM ratings. We also bring you a lot of Olympics trivia and updates of the week. Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2012 167 Indicast167 http://www.theindicast.com The presidential post in India is largely a ceremonial role. But when Pranab Mukherjee took oath as the thirteeth president of India, the top bosses at Congress must have slept well that night. With the prospect of a hung parliament alive and well, Pranab da can exercise his presidential powers. In this podcast, we talk a bit about what he inherits from his predecessor and what lies ahead of him. In other big news, London prepares itself for one of the most lavish parties on earth as it hosts its third Olympics. Sat, 28 Jul 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:00 2012 166 Indicast166 http://bit.ly/indicast166 This week Tarun Sehrawat, a 22 year old photographer from Tehelka died of malaria. He picked up the germ while reporting from Jharkhand for the magazine. Ghazal myestro Mehndi Hassan passed away. In some encouraging news, three young Indians were shortlisted by Google for its annual science fair contest. In sports, Bhupati and Paes go at each other. And this week, we talk about Deepika Kumari, India's entry to Olympics in archery. Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 19:12 2012 165 Indicast165 http://bit.ly/indicast165 The world is in a sportive mood this week with Saina Nehwal winning the Thailand Open and Sania Mirza and Bhupati taking the French Open. Lewis Hamilton wins the Canadian Grand Prix becoming the seventh new winner in as many races. This episode we also talk about Krishna Poonia, India's discuss thrower who will represent us at the Olympics. The Euro 2012 has kicked off too with the best match so far being that of Spain versus Italy which was tied at 1-1. But outside football, Spain dare not celebrate. Spanish banks have been given a rescue loan totaling to more than a 100 billion USD in the hope that they turn things around. In politics, one Gunapati Deepak Reddy has declared revenues of more than Rupees 6,000 crores. An eventful week overall. Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 38:10 2012 164 Indicast164 http://bit.ly/indicast164 People are beginning to ask the question that every Indian dreads. Is India really shining? or is it being too pessimistic to keep expecting India to continue on its growth number while the world goes through a slowdown? The Indian government is doing its best defend the growth numbers, falling rupee, and the petrol price hike. In other topics, we talk about Indias new army chief, Vishwananthan Anand's victory, Sachin turning an MP, and Mary Koms Olympic dream Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 29:20 2012 163 Indicast163 http://bit.ly/indicast163 For the first time in many many years, Standard & Poor downgraded Indias rating from stable to BBB nevative and our politicians rehearsed their typical reaction of being "shocked" at this. In other news, a few politicians are miffed at the Haj subsidy which is an annual freebie given to those who make the trip to Haj. In what turns out to be the programing coup of the decade, Aamir Khan debuts with Satyameva Jayate, a one hour show which addresses social evils and attempt to offer a solution. Zohra Sehgal, the sprightly actress from Bollywood turns 100! Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:35 GMT 24:12 2012 162 Indicast162 http://bit.ly/indicast158 Our conversations about Sachin Tendulkar can get one-sided. We are fans. In this one, however, we are disappointed with his recent decision to accept the Rajya Sabha nomination. But our disappointment pales when we compare it with Suresh Kalmadis audacious attempt to make a comeback at the Indian Olympic Association as its president. Knowing our politics, he might even make it. A week back, India tested its Agni V long-range missile. Our neighbours responded with their own. In some pleasant news, IIT is set to expand overseas. Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:30:35 GMT 31:22 2012 161 Indicast161 http://bit.ly/indicast161 We are back after what has been the longest hiatus in the last 5 years that we have been doing Indicast. We start the episode taking about the top stories that we missed while we were away and then move on with the current affairs. This weeks stories include the successful Agni V test, The Aids train, Akaash tablets fail, Yuvraaj Singh returning back to India and Gandhi memoribilia still getting fetching big bucks. Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:30:35 GMT 26:02 2012 160 Indicast160 http://bit.ly/indicast160 Mumbai elections came and went. The 13th municipal elections since independence saw the BJP-Shiv Sena combo come into power for the fourth consecutive term. Mumbaikars however chose to stay at home and had just 46 per cent voter turnout. Down south in Karnataka, three ministers resign after they were caught watching porn at job. According to one poll, Indians are the among the happiest people on earth. In sports, Yuvraj Singh who has been diagnosed with tumor is recovering in a hospital at Boston. Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:12 2012 159 Indicast159 http://bit.ly/indicast158 This episode is full high and low points for India. While India got thrashed by Australia in the cricket, India, with a lot of help from many organizations, has achieved to be Polio free for an entire year. The later is a lot more important than cricket so it not really a fair comparison. There are a few more such topic in this episode. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:30:35 GMT 26:22 2012 158 Indicast158 http://bit.ly/indicast158 Welcome to the first episode of the year 2012. We begin our episode with our ramblings about how cold it has been in India and we somehow manage to figure out the meaning of lyrics for one of Govindas hit song. The topics that we cover in this episode include the update on UP elections, Bhaichund Bhutia playing his last match, Kingfishers woes continuing, $1 doctor visits for urban poor and Indias dismal performance in Australia. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:30:35 GMT 31:22 2011 157 Indicast157 http://bit.ly/indicast157 Time magazine put the protester on the front page of its Person of the Year issue. 2011 was truly a year of revolutions and we sum up some of them in this podcast. This year also saw some astonishing inventions in the world of Physics. A few weeks ago some scientists claimed that some particle can indeed travel faster than light. A few days back physicists have finally seem to have put their finger on what is called the God particle. In India, such news is being pushed to the back pages of the papers as the front page generally is dedicated to the falling rupee and its effects to Indians in India and outside. Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:35 2011 156 Indicast156 http://bit.ly/indicast156 Kapil Sibal is not the first Indian politician to trend on Twitter, but perhaps the first one to trend with a dubious adjective (or noun, whatever), idiot. His lack of knowledge about how the internet works was evident when he asked companies like Facebook and Google to prescreen content which is posted by Indian users after he found a few morphed pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh which showed them in bad light. This year has seen quite a rew RIPs and Dev Anand and Indira Goswami get added to the list. In cricket, Sehwag scores a double century and if you are in Maharashtra, beware of those 500 rupee notes - they could just be fake! Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:35 2011 155 Indicast155 http://www.theindicast.com Right from the days when trade was in barter format, the retail world has always been exciting. In the west, it has graduated from mom and pop stores to big box. The Indian government believed that India too should ape the movement, and has rejigged the Foreign Direct Investment rules in the retail sector. The opposition was not amused. In other corporate news, Cyrus Mistry will take over from Ratan Tata in December 2013. In the science field, the world's lightest material caught Adityas fancy and he gives us an overview. Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:00 2011 154 Indicast154 http://www.theindicast.com Mayawati has follows a strict routine for ensuring to make it to the front pages of Indian newspapers at least once a week. This time she succeeds in convincing her party to pass a resolution demanding four different states. In Himachal Pradesh, more than 800 women have been reported missing in the past few years. The Unhate Benetton advertising campaign was the most talked about news story in business and in science, a startling discovery that one can travel faster than the speed of light just came to light. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 153 Indicast153 http://www.theindicast.com Kingfisher is all over the place. Thats the news that everyone is feeding on especially in the business newspapers. Vijay Mallyas airline company has declared its 16 straight quarterly loss and things are not about to improve in the short term. In politics, Rahul Gandhi is now been slated to be the next man in charge as he contests elections in Uttar Pradesh. Government will soon be launching a Right to Education Act which promises education to every kid upto 14 years of age. In world news, floods in Thailand have set the country back. In cricket, South Africa and Australia slug it out in test matches and India is on a roll. At the time of the recording, Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni had scored centuries in the second test. Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 25:40 2011 152 Indicast152 http://www.theindicast.com We start off this episode by talking a bit about the noise surrounding the Armed Forces Special Power Act which was established back in 1958. It turns out that Omar Abdullah wants it revoked in Jammu and Kashmir for it gives the army right to arrest and sometimes kill without the need of a warrant or necessary paperwork. In other news, Bhupen Hazarika and Joe Fraiser passed away this week and the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death was finally out when his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:49 2011 151 Indicast151 http://www.theindicast.com Finally, after all these years, Formula One comes to India. Thankfully, the event went off without a glitch. Sebastian Vettel won it by a huge margin and saw Mayawati on the podium hand him the trophy. In other news, Metallica performed in Bangalore after its show was cancelled in Delhi due to a lapse in security. Meanwhile, the seventh billion baby was born. In cricket, three Pakistan players were convicted for spot fixing on a day when the Indian captain was given the title of Honorary Lt Colonel by the Indian army. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 2011 150 Indicast150 http://bit.ly/indicast150 The 150th episode of Indicast is finally here but this time with a new voice. Abhishek is out on his bike in the Himachal Pradesh and so Akhilesh, who has been on Bizination a few times, joined me on for the 150th. God seems to be feeling lonely and has called in for company of 3 greats in quick succession. We talk about Tiger Pataudi, Steve Jobs and Jagjit Singh passing away, Murthys comment on quality of IIT students and the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:10 2011 149 Indicast149 http://bit.ly/indicast149 This is an attempt to bring to our listeners a happier and less politically inclined episode of Indicast. We will make a conscious effort to have topics from a wider interest areas. This episode covers the Sikkim earthquake, Modi ending his fast, the DMIC mega project, Indias loss in Tennis Davis Cup, BCCI banning the Kochi franchise from IPL and our regular digressions. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 36:10 2011 148 Indicast148 http://bit.ly/indicast148 Barely a month had past since the Mumbai Serial blasts when the terrorist struck again. This time it was Delhi. Delhi is the latest entrant into the list of unresolved (yet) terror strike. Afghanistan and Pakistan also witnessed much large terror strike. The other topics that Abhishek & I discuss include Supreme Courts ruling in the Gulberg Society case, Amar Singh arrest, Ra.One marketing campaigns, Gautam Rajadhyksha death, and India winning the Hockey Asian Cup. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 34:23 2011 147 Indicast147 http://bit.ly/indicast147 After being missing in action for over a month, we are glad to be back. The recent has had some big ticket happenings in India including Lokpal bill and India losing its #1 test ranking spot. Given the significance of the event, we spent most of the time talking about Anna Hazare's movement against corruption and discussed the key points only. Even that took about 20 minutes to cover. The other topics include India's test drubbing by England and 2011 sports awards. Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:30:35 GMT 36:23 2011 146 Indicast146 http://bit.ly/indicast146 Mumbai went through another series of blasts leading to another pointless discussion on Indicast about it. Frankly, we are tired of talking about terrorism in India, especially Mumbai. We try to bring up several points about the blasts and not talk about the usual things. Minal, who is part of Indicast Sport podcast, joined us int his episode to tell her about us experience of being at Lords Cricket Stadium on Day 1 of India vs England Test. needless to say, we dragged her into things she wasnt prepared for but handled herself quiet well. Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 38:02 2011 145 Indicast145 http://www.theindicast.com We decided to start this episode by running through the top stories during our absence and then come to this weeks newsmakers. The talking points this week include the treasure found at Sri Padmanbhaswamy Temple and its interesting legal aspects. We then moved on to talk about Ghulam Nabi Azad and his panache for getting into verbal trouble, Rahul Gandhi's PR Padyatra and Indicast's Mobile apps. Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 38:02 2011 144 Indicast144 http://www.theindicast.com Acclaimed Pakistani journalist, Saleem Shahzad was brutally murdered in Islamabad a few days after he wrote an opinionated article about the talks between Al Quida and the Pakistani Naval officials breaking down. Back home in India, Baba Ramdev chose to go on a fast unto death to fight against corruption. Angela Merkel visited India for a day and in sports, Afridi announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. India, on the other hand leaves for the West Indies tour with Suresh Raina taking charge from Dhoni. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:30 2011 143 Indicast143 http://www.theindicast.com Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha shine in their respective states to win landslide victories. In this podcast, Aditya gives us a run down of state elections that is currently on in India. The biggest coup came from Mamata didi who ended the 34 year long Marxist regime in West Bengal where as Jayalalitha continued the cyclical phenomenon by toppling DMK in Tamil Nadu. In other news, we also talk a bit about the recently released diaries of Osama Bin Laden. Thu, 19 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2011 142 Indicast142 http://www.theindicast.com The weekend Royal wedding festivities continued in some parts of the world when a confident, and emotionless Barack Obama declared that US had killed Osama in Pakistan. The incident has left Pakistan red faced since it always maintained that Osama was not in Pakistan. Some see this military operation as a blatant disregrad to Pakistan' sovereignty. As soon as the news hit India, Chidabaram was on it asking Pakistan to now hand over Dawood and Saeed Hafiz (26/11 strategist). But this seems far from happening. We cover a few more deaths that happened in India in this episode. Fri, 06 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 28:00 2011 141 Indicast141 http://www.theindicast.com Anna Hazare waited for a few days before he broke his fast. The Congress relented. In this podcast, we try and bring you what the Lokmat Bill means and why did Hazare press for it. In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar has been declared the Wisdens Leading Cricketer of the year. Pakistan plans to bring their own version of IPL amidst their captain Afridi making some interesting comments on India. Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 140 Indicast140 http://www.theindicast.com Sanjeev Agarwal, the Joint CEO of Big Bazaar joins us to talk about his experience of watching India play at Mohali, Ahmedabad and finally at Mumbai where India lifted the World Cup trophy after 28 years. Anna Hazares fast unto death has finally succeeded in moving people in the parliament to come up with the Lokpal bill after a longer wait of 42 years. Aditya brings up a puberty related topic where our adolescents are getting bolder by the era. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 139 Indicast139 http://www.theindicast.com India takes on Pakistan in the second semi final later today at Mohali. In the universal set of India and Pakistan, if set A were cricket and Set B were politics, then A intersection B is confusion, tension and a false sense of security. But we do rely on hope. In this podcast, we talk about this and more. Warren Buffet is in India. The DGCA spanking continues on pilots who have forged their way into the service. And Adityas better half makes her debut in a film titled Bal Gandharva which is going to the Cannes Film Festival. Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 138 Indicast138 http://www.theindicast.com Wiki Leaks has found a new market. It is India. After tying up with The Hindu, it has released a few cables which accuse some of our politicians of selling votes for cash. Japan is still recovering from one of its worst nightmares after suffering from one of the biggest earthquakes of the century. Back home in India, Jairam Ramesh, our Environment Minister is gearing up to carry out a security check across all of Indias 20 nuclear plants. In other news, Vidharbha is the new Tiger capital of India and right at the end of this episode, Aditya is genuinely fascinated by a pair of silicon implants killing a snake! Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 137 Indicast137 http://www.theindicast.com Did you know that there were 18,000 Indians holed up in Libya about a week back. The Indian government is going all out to evacuate all Indians in the region as Col Gaddafi refuses to let go of his assumed control over Libya. Back home, Aruna Shanbaug lies in a vegetative state for 37 years running but sees a glimmer of hope as the court allows passive euthanasia in her case. We would love to know your views on euthanasia. Have you heard of a state stocking up on blood in anticipation of state elections. We just did. It is West Bengal. In other news, our beloved Uncle Pai, the creator of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle series passed away. RIP. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 136 Indicast136 http://www.theindicast.com Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh woke up to the din surrounding him and ordered a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the corruption scandals that have rocked the government in the past few months. The High Court has upheld its death penalty sentence on Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist who was involved in the 26th November attacks. The Cricket World Cup 2011 is here and the the official website entrusted with selling tickets to fans was overwhelmed when 10 million hits landed on the website in a matter of minutes before the servers saturated. In this rather light podcast, we talk about a little bit of everything. Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 135 Indicast135 http://www.theindicast.com Egypt showed the world how the common man can wake up and throw everything hes got against an oppressive regime. Aditya feels that India has reached its inflection point too. I beg to differ and the argument continues... In our neighbouring country, not all is well. Former president Musharraf has been accused of murdering Bhutto. In sports, the Cricket World Cup 2011 has begun. Who are you betting on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 2011 134 Indicast134 http://www.theindicast.com The legendary artist, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away and Aditya recounts some of his experiences of watching Pandits live concerts. This week saw high profile exits of top CEOs from India as well as the US hopefully for the best. In some good news, India set up its first tidal plant in Gujarat. In politics, the Ekta Yatra orchestrated by BJP was predictably stopped in Jammu and Kashmir. In sports, Coke has poached Sachin from Pepsi and Gary Kirsten, argubaly India's best coach will call it quits after the World Cup. Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 2011 133 Indicast133 http://www.theindicast.com With the World Cup only a month away, one would have thought that all TV ad spots would start advertising the biggest spectacle which is played once in four years, but IPL auctions stole the wind out of the World Cup with players being bought and sold in an open English auction. In other news, India is undertaking the biggest operation in the decade census and this time the transgenders have been recognised under the others category. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 2011 132 Indicast132 http://www.theindicast.com 2010 came and went. Aditya dubs it as the year of scams and names such as A Raja, Swami Nityananda, Nira Radia, Kalmadi, Chavan come to mind. But ironically, one man who made a tremendous mark on India is from the world of politics Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar. India probably had one of its best years in sports. In this episode, we celebrate our 5 years of tormenting and entertaining each one of you. Thanks for sticking with us. Spread the word. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 2010 131 Indicast131 http://www.theindicast.com It has been 2 weeks since our honorable members of Parliaments havent done anything productive. Parliament continues to be in suspended mode. Why? Opposition is asking for a JPC. What is a JPC? We had the same question, so we decided to dig deeper. In other stories, we talk about Arundhati Roy and Geelani to be arrested for Sedition (we explain Sedition too), Indian ranked 6th in terms of nuclear power generation capabilities and 600,000 dying due to passive smoking. Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 2010 130 Indicast130 http://www.theindicast.com When an IAS officer is caught for corruption, it isn't a big deal, but when he uses encrypted language in his telephone conversations to cover up, we also get a trailer of the hilarious side of such crimes. Listen to know what we mean! The 2G license scam has banks having withdrawal symptoms. While Dalai Lama contemplates retirement, the pope approves selective condom use. In sports, Kumble and Srinath become the new face of Karnataka cricket. Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 29:10 2010 129 Indicast129 http://www.theindicast.com The episode covers the opinions on the 2G spam that has been reported in the CAG. Adding fuel to the fire, OPEN magazine leaked telephone taps which reveals the level of lobbying that happened while the cabinet portfolios were distributed. While politics dominated this episode, we managed to squeeze in cricket, BCCI contracts, and the latest American of Indian origin to make the news. Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:00 2010 128 Indicast128 http://www.theindicast.com One of the biggest scams of 2010 unravel as the Adarsh Housing Colony in Colaba finds itself occupied by certain politicians and their kins. Obama visits India and the preparations are in full swing; Aditya who works in the heart of Bombay feels that we have added one more reason to the traffic jams - the Obama visit. In some good news, India comes tantalizingly close to eradicating polio. In Sports, Venkateshwara Hatcheries is betting big on an English Premier League team. Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2010 127 Indicast127 http://www.theindicast.com The Navratri and Durga festivals have ended along with the Common Wealth Games but, the action surrounding CWG seems to be heating up. CBI, Enforcement Directorate and several other investigation bodies are readying themselves for games. In other top news stories of the week, India got elected as a non permanent to the UN Security Council after 20 long years, Kerala police bust a gang of telemarketers, and Nirmohi Akhara and Muslim law board decide to take the Ayodhya issue to the supreme court. Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2010 126 Indicast126 http://www.theindicast.com After a lot of negative press leading upto CWG, the opening ceremony has a bit hit. The jugaad worked, again. India has had a successful CWG campaign so far and are ranked 2nd in the medal tally behind Australia. The other topics discussed include Sachins and Laxmans exploit against Australia, launch of Project Aadhaar, and Indias billionaire list. Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 2010 124 Indicast125 http://www.theindicast.com Kalmadi, finally, stepped up and owned up to his responsibility with a few caveats about the money spent by the organizing committee but the bad press for CWG continues. The Ayodhya verdict is expected today and the government has taken the security concerns very seriously. Offices and schools plan to remain closed in anticipation of problems but does the Ayodhya issue really matter any anymore? In other topics, we discuss the unfortunate incident that killed 7 elephants, visa requirements for Indians, space tourism, Peepli LIVE as India's entry to Oscars and update on the spot fixing controversy. Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:30:35 GMT 37:00 2010 204 Indicast124 http://www.theindicast.com We might have missed the pakistan "spot fixing" saga and then the Gokulashtami celebration but are back in time for Ganpati. The recent Jama Masjid firing might just cause a dip in the collections at Mumbai's largest Ganesh mandal. The other stories include waiting for the decision on Ayodhya, CWG mess, Sania's faux pas, Mahesh Bhupathi's innovative tax planning and China making me thank for being an Indian. In the interest of avoiding further delays, we recorded the episode via cell phone so please bear with the audio quality. Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:30:35 GMT 32:00 2010 123 Indicast123 http://www.theindicast.com This episode of Indicast starts on a rather sad note with the flood situation in Leh and Pakistan. The rescue efforts are in full swing in both places, but like most desperate situations the aid is still far from sufficient. The rest of the world is also facing a lot of heat due to climate change. The magnitude of news that the Commonwealth Games is churning has reaching new proportions with new scams and cases misappropriation of funds showing up. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:30:35 GMT 26:00 2010 122 Indicast122 http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a break and you might be getting a bit tired of us saying that over and over again. We missed a few important events like the world cup, and the pakistan peace talks breaking down for the nth time. However, we start with the new Indian rupee symbol, Bihar women fast tracking their pregnancies, Ministers by passing the gag order by Congress by taking to twitter and the active sports sections - Saina is #2 and Murli reached ends his test cricket with 800 wickets. Wed, 4 Aug 2010 12:30:35 GMT 31:11 2010 121 Indicast121 http://www.theindicast.com Abhijit Dasgupta, the Deputy Editor of India Today Magazine was kind enough to join us on a Skype call from the beautiful city of Kolkata which is lately the cynosure of all Indian political news. Mamata Banerjee helped get WB on the front pages by winning the civic polls and two days before her landslide victory she made some rather controversial remarks about the Gyaneshwari Express train derailment. Abhijit, very eloquently talks about his experience of interviewing and covering the colourful politician over his career which spans over more than three decades. In other news, the missing black box from the Air India crash site has been retrieved. Chand Kumar Prasad, a 24 year old employed with the Indian Navy has been accused of spying. The heat wave in the north has reached new levels! Sun, 6 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 28:10 2010 120 Indicast120 http://www.theindicast.com The episode starts on a very sombre note with discussions around the Mangalore Air crash however the topics get a bit cheerful after that. On the occassion of completing one year of UPA II, the Indian PM Manmohan Singh decided to sit face to face with the press and provide an update about the work done. the other topics on this episode include, an All India bengali team conquering Mt Everest, Dawood 3rd on the Forbes Most Wanted List, and the 99 year old half marathon runner. Tue, 25 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 40:18 2010 119 Indicast119 http://www.theindicast.com It was the 150th Birth Anniversay of India's, for that matter - Asia', first Nobel Laureat. We start with remembering and talking about Rabindranath Tagore and a few side stories about his Life. We then digress to general opinions about Bengalis (hardly a surprise). The other topics include Jayram Ramesh getting pulled up by Manmohan Singh for mouthing off, Anand's winning streak, Nithari killer getting death sentence, and the death of tongas in Delhi. Tue, 18 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 34:29 2010 118 Indicast118 http://www.theindicast.com Terrorist Ajmal Kasab has been given the death sentence. Ujjwal Nikam, the public procecutor deserves a special mention. INS Shivalik marks a historic breakthrough in the history of Indian navy by becoming india's first stealth warship which is non detectable in high seas. Manmohan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar among many others find their name in TIME magazine's annual list of achievers. The Delhi University gave itself a bad name this week when it sold radioactive material to a scrap dealer! Fri, 07 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:19 2010 117 Indicast117 http://www.theindicast.com The IPL ended and so did Modi's regime. Chirayu Amin has been brought in as the interim chief of IPL. The Glocodyn man is thinking of doing away with Cheergirls and IPL nights and focus on cricket. (Modi is laughing somewhere). The other taopics include the 364 passenger having a near death experience and India's very own matahari. Sun, 02 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 41:50 2010 116 Indicast116 http://www.theindicast.com We recorded this episode a day before Modi was suspended. This podcast also talks about how the Mobile service providers in India have found new ways to milk the devotional customers where you could directly connect with God through an SMS. Aditya has some interesting examples. In Jammu and Kashmir, the government almost succeeded in banning the use of bulk SMSs for the fear of spreading rumors which could cause unnecessary panic. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 41:50 2010 115 Indicast115 http://www.theindicast.com This week was all about Sania Mirza becoming Sania Malik. Aditya gives us a crash course in islamic weddings. We also end up talking a bit about the concept of VOIP marriages which Aditya is strictly against. In some sad news, 76 CRPF jawans were killed by the maoists. Mr. Chidambaram offered to quit, but his resignation was not accepted. We hold ourselves back this time before going on a rant on criticizing the government. You will know why when you listen to the episode. Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 24:50 2010 114 Indicast114 http://www.theindicast.com It's very rare for abhishek to get excited about any story that we discuss on Indicast with the exception of sachin scoring a century. But Milkha Singh selling his life story to be made into a movie for Re. 1 was something that got him going. He was so impatient that I spent most time figuring out how to get thim talking on other topics like the Kingfisher bomb scare, Mayawati's Maharally, and new teams being introduced in IPL 4. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 33:50 2010 113 Indicast113 http://www.theindicast.com Here is a question for all you folks. See if you can crack it. What do you call a man who is an actor, screenwriter and director by profession, a sportsman who represented his country in one of the most physically demanding sports, a well informed social activist, a food lover, a stand up comedian and someone who describes himself as half Bengali, one fourth Maharastrian and one fourth Bengali by birth. Well, you can call the man Rahul Bose.Whether it is the Womens Reservation Bill which is making news at the moment or the beautiful craft of acting in movies, Rahul, in this candid chat with us is outspoken, eloquent and modest, a deadly combination. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 43:05 2010 112 Indicast112 http://www.theindicast.com The day started with all of us reading about the tragic death of more than 10 people living in Bangalore when an office building caught fire. One of our listeners from Bangalore, Lakshmikant joins in to give us the ground zero POV of the unfortunate event. Later in the day, Sachin made history by scoring the first double century in the history of One Day International cricket. Pune blasts toll reach 15 and Telangana state claimed the life of a 19 year old to suicide. In other news, schools seeking donations can face some serious trouble with a new bill being passed. On the tech front, India will launch its first stealth submarine. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 2010 111 Indicast111 http://www.theindicast.com Whats common between Rahul Gandhi, SRK, Mukesh Ambani and Sachin Tendulkars apart from their rather envious bank accounts Yeah, its not too hard to guess. Their strong affinity towards Shiv Sena and MNS. In other news, in Egypt, some Muslim Scholar issued a fatwa stating that a woman browsing a social networking site will be considered to be a sinner. Back home here in India, Rahul Mahajan is part of an interesting reality show. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:30:35 GMT 20:05 2010 110 Indicast110 http://www.theindicast.com/ Some good soul has said that Having a good conversation is one of the great joys of being human And if it is coupled with the sustained charm, wit and energy of Gul Panag, you are in for a treat. A big shout out to Gul who did an encore of sorts by firing away on topics ranging from the controversial Padma Shree awards to the relevance of National awards in todays context. For a self confessed cricket un-fan, Gul was pretty vocal about the non selection of the Pakistani players in the IPL. And we also got some first hand dope on her forthcoming release, Rann. Gul enriches an enviable ensemble cast which include the likes of Paresh Rawal and Amitabh Bachchan. The movie releases today. Check it our over the weekend! Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 2010 109 Indicast109 http://www.theindicast.com Sidin, the Managing Editor of LiveMint.com joined us to talk a bit about his forthcoming book, Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin Einstein Varghese and a bit more about the Chetan Bhagat controversy which has found a lot of newspaper space lately. This podcast was free-flowing (uh another way of saying that we were all over the place). We spoke about how beautifully the Indian Hockey Federation is handing its hockey players demands by breaking new records in unprofessionalis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:15 2009 108 Indicast108 http://www.theindicast.com/ The last episode and week of the year 2009 and infact the decade was full of controversies and dejections. Starting from Sheila Dixits prayer for a successful CWG to 86 year old Governor beging serviced at Raj Bhavan. Any case, keep listening in the upcoming decade. Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 26:10 2009 107 Indicast107 http://www.theindicast.com/ One venue: Copenhagen. 192 countries. One goal To reduce carbon emissions which isnt doing any good to the climate. The Copenhagen accord was reached after rigourous debate among representatives of 192 countries. Whats it all about? You tell us if you have figured it out so far. Back home in India Congress has sanctioned the formation of a new state Telangana and in Gujarat, the Panchayat elections will now be made compulsory. In cricket, India and Sri Lanka give each other a run for their money in the ODI series. Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:47 2009 106 Indicast106 http://www.theindicast.com/ 25 years after the biggest man made tragedy and the victims are still on the streets fighting another tragedy the government. The Bhopal Gas tragedy completed 25 years and people out there are still hoping to receive fair compensation for the genocide that was caused due to a gas leak from a Multinational company. The absenteeism in the parliament is at a new time high. In soprts, India are world number one in cricket and Tiger woods beats all records off the field this time . Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:47 2009 105 Indicast105 http://www.theindicast.com Some would say 17 years is a long time for a report to be publised especially if its a judgement coming from the Supreme Court for a genocide like a riot which killed 2000 people (reported figures) in the Babri Maszid riot (read: pogrom). 26/11 is one year old now and Maharashtra has set up a Special Task Force called Force 1 for combating any terror strikes. In another news, pilgrimage places are becoming sex hot spots. The biggest exam in town, CAT goes online and sends servers crashing. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:20 2009 104 Indicast104 http://www.theindicast.com When two Sachin fans get together to talk about Him, you might expect a rather one sided conversation, but Aditya surprised me with his take on the recent unintended controversy that Sachin kicked off in the midst of his 20 years of international cricket which was spiced up a little bit with his seemingly innocent and matter of fact remark about Mumbai being a part of India and that it belongs to everyone equally. In other news, in the assembly elections, MNS MLAs beat up Abu Azmi for not taking his oath in Marathi. In Bihar, relief cheque from the state government to certain mishap victims bounced. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 26:20 2009 103 Indicast103 http://www.theindicast.com The General Elections results are out and Congress is back in power in major states. Aditya describes his experience of watching Rahul Gandhi deliver a speech in Adityas home town, Panvel. In other news, Rajdhani Express was hijacked by Maoists but the only relief was that no one was hurt. In education, Kapil Sibal makes it even more difficult to get into an IIT college in India. ISRO and IAF are fighing a healthy battle to send a representative into outer space. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 35:20 2009 102 Indicast102 http://www.theindicast.com/ Happy Diwali Folks. In this unusually lighthearted episode, we talk about Adityas voting experience in the recently concluded state elections. Then we move on to talk about a very serious issue of Obama winning himself an Oscar. Or was it a Nobel? In Sports, Serena Williams posed nude for the body issue of ESPN magazine. Somewhere in India, a couple was asked to tie a rakhee because the Village Panchayat did not approve their love. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:15 2009 101 Indicast101 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-101-moilys-mission-document/ We start our 101st episode by talking about how the Indian cricket team was knocked off from the Champions trophy in the second round itself. But we were a bit more fascinated with Kirsten who wanted to use sex as a weapon against other countries, but failed. In other news, 100 Indian pilots demand for VRS scheme and our PSUs are draining Rs. 31,000 crore every year. ISRO brings a smile to all our faces by launching 7 satellites in 1200 seconds. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 2009 100 Indicast100 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-100-gul-panag-uncut/ Indicasts much awaited episode #100 is here and its in video as promised. Gul Panag was kind enough to join us in the fracas and add to it! The episode is probably the lengthiest episode of Indicast but its worth every minute. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 59:05 2009 99 Indicast99 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-98-go-force-india-go.html The last week was an exciting one for Indian sports. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati went head to head in the US Open. In billiards, Pankaj Advani made history. In cricket, India beat New Zealand in the tri series being played in Lanka. In other news, in real estate, a 3000 Sq feet house in Mumbai was sold for a paltry Rs. 38 crore. An Hitler ad was taken off air because it was derogartory (to whom, we wonder). The political party, RSS changes its stand on BJP. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 33:05 2009 98 Indicast98 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-98-go-force-india-go.html With Force India finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix, the news was awash with the first "Indian" team to have made it big in the Formula 1 circuit and Aditya in his sarcastic way opines about the so called Indianess of the victory. Back home, the government has rejected to invest in the 2011 Formula 1 track that Vijay Mallya is aiming for on the grounds that Formula 1 is not sport, but entertainment. In other sports news, we had Sania Mirza advancing in the second round of the US open while our cricketer, Harbhajan Singh drove his new Hummer in Chandigarh without a registration number and got fined. In politics, BJP is imploding and Aditya gives us his take on it. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 31:05 2009 97 Indicast97 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-97-the-beauty-called-ladakh.html This episode is dedicated to Ladakh and it's magnificent beauty. It is said that this is the only place where you can get a frostbite and a sunburn at the same time. 14 of us did this trip on bikes and a car and it was memorable. In this episode, we end up talking about why it is one place to be visited before we die. In other stories, we had the unfortunate event of Swine flu in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. Ganpati is here and we belive that over the years, the Ganesh Chaturthi festival is losing its sheen. What do you think? And thanks a zillion to all our listeners who are contributing your bit to the Smiletrain initiative by donating. Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:30:35 GMT 46:29 2009 96 Indicast96 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-96-has-omar-abdulla-pulled-off-a-shiney-ahuja.html Omar Abdulla, the youngest CM of Jammu and Kashmir resigned from his post after being accused of being part of a sex scandal sometime back in 2006. Our illustrious politicians have many crimes to their name, but if Omar is proven guilty, it'll be hard for him to comeback considering that it's not murder or burglary. In another news, our Power minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde has optimistic hopes of 'Power to all' by 2012. In Sports, the 37 year old Lance Armstrong finishes on the podium of the Tour De France, but we have a new winner. And the Indicast team is going to Leh for the trip of our lives. Thanks for your support. We'll hope to update you from Leh if possible. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:19 2009 95 Indicast95 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-94-calling-panipat.html The odds of Bihar being in the world spotlight are a million to one. An eclipse made it possible. NASA declared a small town named Taregna in Bihar as the best place to witness what was the longest and one of the most beautiful sights in the sky. Planed earth experienced a complete solar eclipse on July 23. Back on the ground, the Continental Airline has been taken to task because some ground crew member had the audacity to frisk our former president, APJ Kalam. Outside in France, Sarkosy has gotten tough on anyone who wears anything remotely associated with religion; the Sikhs are not too happy about it. Rahul Gandhi has taken an oath of sorts to expel all party members with criminal records. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:25 2009 94 Indicast94 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-94-calling-panipat.html Dr Manmohan Singh is a natural remedy for sleep disorders, says a western journalist and we couldn't help but comment on that as our PM is back from an overnight visit from Paris where he attended the French National Day Parade as the the chief guest. In politics, the Supreme court has given clearance to Mayawati to erect those statues costing crores of rupees. Aditya has strong opinions on this one. Also, we call in our listener to discuss a rather amusing story of Air India stuffing in three more passengers after the house full board was up. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:25 2009 93 Indicast93 http://www.theindicast.com No one knew about Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code until the High Court fished it out, amended it and the media splashed it on prime time and front pages. Section 377 stated that no man or woman could engage in sexual activity which is against the order of nature. This archiac law was finally amended by the High Court and in this episode, we mull about how big a deal is it really? The Kargil War completes its 10th anniversary and in another international news, Bernie Madoff is sentenced to 150 years of imprisonment for his billion dollar fraud, but Aditya is not too happy about it! Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:32 2009 92 Indicast92 http://www.theindicast.com She might be the chief minister of one of the poorest state in India but that doesn't mean the state has no money to splurge. Mayawati in on a statue inaugration binge which has now been challenged in the Supreme Court. In other news, we talk about the Below Poverty Lines stats that have been anounced, Nandan Nilekani joining as a cabinet minister, Afzal Guru mercy plea, and ICC's attempt to make tests interesting. But the highlight of this episode is the Lalu and Mayawati joke by Abhishek. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 36:42 2009 91 Indicast91 http://www.theindicast.com Indians are once gain reminded about how how diverse the country is. While North India was undergoing a heat wave, the South eastern country was washed away by heavy rains. In the other significant news, we talk about our plans for the upcoming 100th episode of Indicast. We are looking forward to some generous financial support this time from you and hope that you empty your wallet for a good cause. IN other news. we talk about India's T20 exit, new lady Lok Sabha speaker, and what's up between Mayawati and Lalu? Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:30:35 GMT 38:05 2009 90 Indicast90 http://www.theindicast.com There is a new trend in Australia - Beat the Indians. Until a month ago, it was only on the cricket field but now its on the street. Indian students are being targetted and beaten up in hate crimes. While this is going on in Australia, Indian Sikhs are killing each other in Austria. As a result people went crazy in Punjab and caused damages worth Rs. 7000 crores that too in recessionary times. Other topcis include Afzal Guru mercy plea, air traffic woes, Cabinet ministers and other ramblings Sun, 31 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:05 2009 89 Indicast89 http://www.theindicast.com Congress scores a big win in the World's largest democratic election. It no longer depends on any of its alliance parties to keep it in Power but will that mean better and sensible governance remains to be seen. In the other big news, LTTE chief Prabharakaran has been killed by Sri-lankan. We talk about what the LTTE has given the world. You will be surprised to know that the list is pretty interesting. Sun, 24 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:01 2009 88 Indicast88 http://www.theindicast.com We made a passing reference to Bofors deal in the last episode which made a research it a bit and thought that it would be good to talk about what the big deal about it was and sub inspector has been punished for possibly doing his job. Other topics include women topping the UPSC exams this year, and ISI training women for terrorism. Wed, 13 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 33:01 2009 87 Indicast87 http://www.theindicast.com After all the drama and ruckus created by the Mumbaiites post 26/11, it was a no show on election day. Only 43% of us decided to vote while the rest most probably enjoyed a long weekend but a few voters in Madhya Pradesh decided to cast a "no-vote". This episode also covers the suprising death of the man who discovered pebbles in Ambani's helicopter, how the slowdown has resulted in the increase in UPSC applications, and why a tigress in Ranthambore was conferred the Lifetime achievement award. Tue, 05 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 2009 86 Indicast86 http://www.theindicast.com The performers are ready. The biggest democracy drama is set to unveil itself. In this podcast we wonder what it would be like if Advani and Dr Manmohan Singh were to debate aka Obama and Mc Cain. But then we have Mulayam Singh Yadav wanting to ban English in schools since it soils our culture. In another news, a son kills his dad for voting for a wrong party .And IPL has kicked off and Bhajji and Dhoni are in the news for other reasons Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:03 2009 85 Indicast85 http://www.theindicast.com Continuing our election updates, BJP released its election manifesto containing all the things that they would do if elected and how did congress react? Congress says that 70% of the manifesto has been ripped from UPA's manifesto. Also, you know that its election time when a leader choses to address the a rally through his cell phone. The other updates include Karnatak topping the list of voters ready to sell their votes for cash, Pooja Chopra winning the Miss India 2009, Kasab getting a lawyer and the Queen gets a new iPod from Obama. Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:03 2009 84 Indicast84 http://www.theindicast.com We spent 21 of the 22 minutes talking about politics or the lack of it. Aditya and I ended up at two ends talking about Mayawati, the politician with a not so impeccable track record and Meera Sanyal, the ABN Amro bank head who has nothing to her credit yet, but is taking baby steps in contesting this years elections. Politics and entertainment are never mutually exclusive; we have SRK campaining for Congress. In another news, Congress has reserved 50 per cent seats for NRIs and Aditya is livid! Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 22:07 2009 83 Indicast83 http://www.theindicast.com India celebrated Holi just like any other year, but this time with some organic flavour. After the bomb blasts less than a fortnight ago, Pakistan is confident of hosting cricket matches by the end of this year. Aditya opines that Pakistan has bigger problems and that list is endless. India is not making any healthy headlines either. A 19 year old lost his life to careless college ragging. In cricket, India beat New Zealand and Sehwag became the fastest Indian to score a century in an ODI. May be that's the only good news that we've read in the papers for a long time now. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 2009 82 Indicast82 http://www.theindicast.com Pakistan cricket must have stepped closer to its grave with the recent brutal attempt to assassinate the touring Lankan team. Taliban, like a malignant tumor is spreading across Pakistan and the government seems helpless which does not bode too well for India. Back home, the election dates have been announced, but India doesn't surprise the educated world by coming up with options like one Ansari who has a string of legal charges going against him (or for him) on his resume. Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 2009 81 Indicast81 http://www.theindicast.com While Obama took office in the US, the Indian politics was having a ball of a time in amusing its citizens. What is the former Indian captain, Azaruddin doing in Indian politics, you may ask, but when Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata is rumored to contest for Samajwadi Party, nothing seems weird. On a more hopeful note, our martyrs were awarded Ashoka Charkra on Independence Day for showing unparalled courage fighting the terrorists. Slumdog millionaire has made it to almost all possible award ceremonies and now it's time for the big one - The Oscars. But we are not too happy with the film makers for paying peanuts to the three young stars of the film who still wake up in their thached huts and have nowhere to go. In another news, Qutub Minar is tilting and the authorities are doing everything to save the monumentfrom collapsing! Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT 2009 80 Indicast80 http://www.theindicast.com 2009 has started off with what might turn out to be the largest scam in India Inc's history. Raju revealed how ordinary people can do extraordinary things just like Satyam's website mention. But the week had some positive news with AR rahman winning at the Golden Globe for his work in SlumDog Millionaire. Talking about people in Bollywood, SRK has been listed as the 41st most influential person in the world and Sanjay Dutt has finally decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a Samajhwadi Party ticket. We end the episode talking about Pamela Anderson's letter to BMC about being kinder to the stray dogs. Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT 2009 79 Indicast79 http://www.theindicast.com As we get into the new year, we look back at 2008 and talk about the significant events that took place. Sadly, the negative events dominated 2008 and we really had to look for something that cheered us up in the year gone by. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT 2008 78 Indicast78 http://www.theindicast.com A wounded tiger is far more dangerous than a hungry one. India has lived this cliche for a long time now, but only to the extent of being hungry and wounded. It is far from dangerous; in fact, if you listen closely, you might hear some whimpering. It has been a fortnight since the terrorists ripped through Mumbai. Since then, the Taj has been rebuilt; Trident announced that it will be reopening soon, the CST is back to being a host to millions of people daily and our politicians do not have any concrete answers about why it all happened, what steps should we take now and whether it will happen again. Aditya, who travels through local trains in peak time, shares his observations about how his fellow passengers now double up as detectives and how daily traveling has become an unfortunate adventure. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 77 Indicast77 http://www.theindicast.com It's an epidemic of sorts now. It struck again. It lasted for 60 hours. Mumbai bled. As viewers stitched to the TV set like umbilical chords, it was psychologically draining to watch the footage of Hemant Karkare readying himself to take control before he was shot dead with two other ranking cops Salaskar and Kamte, to see the deserted CST station daubed in red, to stare at the burning Taj as the our men with woefully inadequate infrastructure brought it to an end. Amid the chaos, journalists became household names whose voice, sometimes desparate, sometimes hopeful blared through our TV sets. While some sensationalised it, a few others acted responsibly. Yogita Limaye is one such reporter from CNN IBN who clocked two nights straight near the Taj running relentlessly on adrenalin and in this podcast, she gives us an on-ground perspective of the events that unfolded. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 76 Indicast76 http://www.theindicast.com With companies going bust and countries filing for bankruptcy, newspapers are hunting for less cliched headlines. One story from NYT caught our attention. It claimed that pets are not recession proof. People who cannot afford to pay their rents are now forced to abandon their pets! In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar gave us a reason to celebrate his world record of scoring the highest number of runs in test match cricket. We cheered for Arvind Adiga who won himself the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his book, 'The White Tiger'. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 75 Indicast75 http://www.theindicast.com It's been about three years now and it has been fun all along. Here's a huge shoutout to all you folks out there from across the world who have stayed with us and helped us through your comments (both nasty and encouraging!). Until this episode, we didn't know how countries could go bankrupt. Back home, Maharashtra government decided to sort of legalise the live in relationship model where the woman will be eligible for alimony (conditions apply, of course!). Our beloved dada, Saurav Ganguly has announced retirement from all forms of cricket, but Aditya is still hopeful that Ganguly might reconsider it. Look forward to your comments in this podcast. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 74 Indicast74 http://www.theindicast.com The American stock markets are in the mood for some adventure. On their way down the cliff, they brought the Indian Sensex to one of its all time lows in the past two years. While in one news, India is all set to sign the Indo American nuclear agreement, in another, the Government has declared a nationwide smoking ban in India. Mamata Banerjee successfully tests Ratan Tata's patience and gets the better of him. The One lakh car project gets delayed. India which has been known for its religious tolerance is giving away as communal riots erupt in different parts of the country. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 73 Indicast73 http://www.theindicast.com China can make cheap goods. We all know that. What we did not know was that China could host the biggest event on the face of the earth in the grandest form ever imagined. We are of course talking about the Olympics which brought us all good news. Heck India won the first individual Olymipic Gold medal in 108 years. Abhinav Bindra, Vijendar Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Akhil Kumar covered the front pages. This podcast is dedicated to all sport lovers. Er we also digressed just a wee bit to talk about Mobica Bedi, condoms and a couple of movies. Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 72 Indicast72 http://www.theindicast.com While India battles double digit inflation, our politicians find a unique way to protest against the increasing fuel prices, but the plan hilariously backfires! While in one story, a small time waiter works his ass off to clear the UPSE exams, another intelligent kid tops the IIT entrance test only to flee his hometown due to the paparazzi pressure. Shiv sena now wants to enter the hearts of the ordinary Mumbaikar by selling vada pavs. Aditya is not too happy with the air hostesses from Delta Airlines and for good reason! Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 71 Indicast71 http://www.theindicast.com Big B has a new meaning now. Amitabh has a blog now and he receiving a response similar to Aamir Khan's Blog . Moving on, Who say's money cant buy happiness? With the growing affluence, atleast in the urban areas, a lot of single women have cut the middle man. The sex toy business in brazil is taking off and the same business in India is seeing a surge too. Although, the goods are legally not allowed to be sold but are easily accessible in grey market. Also, while "researching" Abhishek found the greatest iPod accessory ever and he tells us a bit about it. Wed, 14 May 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 70 Indicast70 http://www.theindicast.com We cover the awesome stories submitted by our beloved listener, Anuj and encourage you to send us stories too using this page (needs you to be logged in). The episode starts with Gujrat being a dry state and then we spent sometime talking about the great indian pot belly followed by how Shivpuri district is giving out gun licenses for people who agree to get a vasectomy done. Believe it or not but its true. Abhishek and I talk about our mixed feeling for the IPL. I believe it's all money and he says he saw a speck of passion for the home team when he attended Mumbai Indians first match at Wankhede. We are also pleased to announce that Economist has setup an Intelligence office in New Delhi, India. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 69 Indicast69 http://www.theindicast.com Episode number 69 is here with lot of stories from India as well as a few weird stories from the UK. The sixth pay commission report dominates the episode after the stories about the rising divorce rates and then make a segway into US wanting hindi teacher. The railway cops have got a new revenue stream and are coning people into getting them to pay for having porn on their cell phone which is not illegal. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 68 Indicast68 http://www.theindicast.com The episode starts with us being proud of a countryman who gave his life just a day after getting sena medal and then how Mumbai was ashmed over the actions of a Mumbai based political party lead by Raj Thackeray. Cabbies, bhelpuriwallas were brutally beaten up by MNS party worker for being norh Indian! Then to make matters worse for the reputation of gurgaon, a 100 cr Kidney scam has been unearthed. We thought these heavy topics were enough for this episodes and moved on to some lighter topics Sat, 9 Feb 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 67 Indicast67 http://www.theindicast.com India celebrates another Republic Day. It was a marathon day with eminent personalities like being showered with Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan. An NGO finds another innovative way to fight corruption in India. Adam Gilchrist, the prolific entertainer and a great sportsman retires from Test match cricket. And in this era of reality shows, lets get ready for a reality sex show as well! Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2008 66 Indicast66 http://www.theindicast.com Hello and welcome to a whole New Year! The last few days of the last year were eventful and Aditya gives us a run down of he getting married in phool to Maharashtrian istyle! How different was his wedding from that of his elder brother? How many hours of poojas did he clock? Aditya willingly answers many more questions like these. The previous year belonged to women like Pratibha Patil, Shilpa Shetty and Rakhee Sawant. This episode is a special one is dedicated to all you guys for being there and rooting for us throughout 2007. Sat, 5 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT 2007 65 Indicast65 http://www.theindicast.com This week the Bollywood Movie Aaja Nachale was banned because it hurt the sentiments of a few people. So nothing new there! Mumbai is jumping on to the energy conservation bandwagon as it declares a black out on Dec 15. We urge all those who are in Mumbai to join in. And in some intimidating news, the Gujrat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi is blunt with his words and scares us all with his speeches. Aditya is all set to start his family and he has a few questions for all you guys at the fag end of the episode. Currently he is relishing his pre wedding gifts Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 64 Indicast64 http://www.theindicast.com Aditya mourns the loss of his Apple Mac laptop which was stolen in broad day light! He takes us through an interesting journey of filing the complaint with the humble Mumbai Police. Bada Bhai, Anil Kumble wins his first test captaining India. Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi author currently in exile in New Delhi has nowhere to go and we talked about what the big deal about it is. We would like to know your take on it as well. Mumbai Marshals have taken the onus onto themselves and the slogan, Clean Mumbai is finally being implemented at the root level! And the Government has found another way to help smokers kick the habit, but, Aditya has another take on it! Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 63 Indicast63 http://www.theindicast.com This diwali, the fireworks industry had to do some rebranding. Govt said no more cracker named after gods. Diwali also brought with it 2 big super hyped movies and both of them failed to impress the masses. Also, did you know About Actor's Day? We also touched upon the things happening in Pakistan and the destruction of cultural relics in the Swat district. As usual we digressed and somehow started discussing Bhutto's marital status!! Dont know how we got there!! Listen to know more.. Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 62 Indicast62 http://www.theindicast.com The podcast begins with our favourite topic- cricket and then we get into how Sri Sri Ravi shankar was present at ET awards and also about the growing trend about political leader signing book deals. Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 61 Indicast61 http://www.theindicast.com Talking on a cell phone can now land you behind bars in Mumbai. Also recently the loan recovery agents have been in the news for the wrong reasons and did you know that you will have ATMs on trains too. What for? Dont ask. Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 60 Indicast60 http://www.theindicast.com The story that got buried by the India team's victory was about the succession planning by congress. Abhishek believes that congress has made their move by giving more responsibilities to Rahul Gandhi who will most probably be ready to take on the Indian Prime ministership in the next term. We also discuss about a landmark in space history, launch of the Sputnik , completing 50 years. A race that the Soviet Union won hands down by sending a beeping ball like satellite around the world. In other interesting news, an RJ brings a ban on it's news channel. Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 59 Indicast59 http://www.theindicast.com I didn't think I would live to tell this tale to my grandchildren, said a 73 year old from Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Cricket kindles interest among all classes and cuts through all castes here in India. The youngest and the most inexperienced team of the tournament won it. While Pakistan put a brave effort, India won it in the end! In hockey, the players have finally spoken up against the mistreatment meted out to them for years! In Nepal, they have found a novel way to fix their Boeing's technical glitches. In another news, Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian! Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 58 Indicast58 http://www.theindicast.com It's Ganpati time and abhishek can't get enough sleep because of Himesh Reshammiya. Pune Municipal Corporation has taken a firm stance by asking the 2000 odd Ganesh Mandals to pay up for the damage to the roads, Mumbai should follow the precedent. In other stories, The Twenty20 is on and the 3 hour cricket format is becoming a huge success. We have some random news about what women perceive kissing as opposed to men and Kurkre is goign to UK. Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 57 Indicast57 http://www.theindicast.com Janmasthmi was here a couple of days back the govindas were awesome with their human pyraminds. We talk about how there is method hidden in this chaos and the rules of govindas. We digress and pass by the topic of PDA in mumbai and its limit and the hungarians creating a world record in it. A every important topic was the sad bomb blasts in Hyderbad. WHy do we need extradiction treaties? And from the sports field, India hockey is going crazy. Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 56 Indicast56 http://www.theindicast.com God must have choreographed Sanjay Dutt's release from the Yerwada jail in Pune where he was slated to languish for six years. The Supreme Court granted the actor an interim bail for dubious reasons! While Sanjay Dutt feeds the headlines for newspapers, Shibu Soren, the former Union Coal minister has been acquitted for a crime for which he was accused in 1994 for lack of "enough" evidence. In another story, the media blamed Orkut for the murder of a 16 year old. Cricket made news for non cricketing reasons again with the BCCI and ICL stand off touching new heights! Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 55 Indicast55 http://www.theindicast.com At the stroke of the midnight hour, India turns 60! We do not dwell upon what India has achieved and what it lacks. You'll get that in the newspapers! On the eve of the Independence day, while Rahul Dravid celebrates a series win against England, another celebrity, Sanju baba will cheer for India from the Yerwada jail in Pune where he is serving a sentence. Indicast now allows you to leave a voice message for us! Just drop in a word (literally)! Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 54 Indicast54 http://www.theindicast.com This episode covers everything from our new woman president, Pratibha Patil is India's first woman president! While India finds another reason to celebrate what has been one of the most eventful presidential elections which is normally a dull affair, we wonder whether she would be able to pull of a few stunts that our former prez, Abdul kalam did (Read: oldest co-pilot). We also talk about the richest man on earth (nopes, not Gates anymore) to how to get yourself a job as a condom tester! Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 53 Indicast53 http://www.theindicast.com US senate was disrupted yesterday for having Hindu prayer reciting the senate's invocation prayer. Taj is voted as one of the seven wonders of the world. But is it really? Abhishek says Indians dont deserve it. Rock stars have $1 million ferrari. Big deal, US astraunauts shit in $19 Million camode . Who rocks now!! Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 52 Indicast52 http://www.theindicast.com It's Rain time in Mumbai and the city is already fealing the heat! (ironically!) While rains disrupted most of the city's roads, it was the chilly weather of Ireland that got to 9 Indian cricket players . Oops! Back in India, the presidential elections is gaining momentum like never before and USA is warming up for its prez candidates as well! While Sunita Williams returned from her 195 day expedition in space, Aditya wonders why is India celebrating her success! In sports, Lewis Hamilton , the 22 year old lad is shaking history in Formula One! Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 51 Indicast51 http://www.theindicast.com Listen to know the heat wave that has struck North India. The 12th results are out and everyones running across to get admitted in the best of colleges. Some are busy collecting caste certificates! Also, in cricket, India is making news.... for non-cricketing reasons... Again!!! Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 50 Indicast50 http://www.theindicast.com Singh is King!! and more insights from our Kullu Manali visit. Check out the photos of the coolest things we came across.No Tobacco Day : May 31st! Dave Whatmore - The new Indian cricket coach! Wed, 30 May 2007 12:30:35 GMT 2007 49 Indicast49 http://www.theindicast.com Sakshi Juneja, the celebrity blogger from Desidabba joins us on the eve of our 50th episode. She also happens to be a huge Rakhi Sawant fan and is an unabashed PR machine for Rakhi on the cyber space. Listen to know more!!! India is a place with a universe of possibilities. 'We are like that only' is a phrase that works well for India, but, not so much when a father rapes his 13 year old daughter and is granted bail for 'technical reasons'! And when they add people on the VIP list who can skip scrutiny check at airports, etc. like they add food items on a hotel menu, it starts getting scary! Fri, 04 May 2007 12:30:35 GMT 22:25 2007 48 Indicast48 http://www.theindicast.com While Richard Gere chose to kiss Shilpa Shetty on stage, as if on cue, the Shiv Sainiks played their "Indian Culture" card and burned effigies of the celebrities. I wonder where they got posters of Richard Gere. While Shiv sainiks were only doing their job, we think aloud why does the Indian media whore itself time and again! If you have some answers, please enlighten us! Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:30:35 GMT 17:34 2007 47 Indicast47 http://www.theindicast.com Hearing that Sex education will corrupt young minds, the state Govt. has put a ban to all constructive efforts towards educating young minds about sex.Load Shedding in Maharashtra has reached new heights! To keep Mumbai awake 24X7, other parts of the state are sweating it out in the sweltering weather. And Aditya and I are not too happy about it! Listen to know more Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:30:35 GMT 21:15 2007 46 Indicast46 http://www.theindicast.com Dare not talk about Cricket in India. You will be taxed. I guess, sania mirza is our only sporting hope now. And even that being very hopeful! But a good thing that happened was that Manjunath's murderers get the death sentence. I would like to see that on Youtube. May manjunath rest in peace. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:30:35 GMT 16:50 2007 45 Indicast45 http://www.theindicast.com Another world is just round the corner and we announce our plans for it. Also Aditya getting is getting married and all indicast listeners are invited. Budget talk, why is railway budget held on a seperate day than the union budget? Find out and tell us. Thu, 1 Mar 2007 19:30:35 GMT 19:24 2007 44 Indicast44 http://www.theindicast.com Indibloggies results are out and Indicast has been adjudged as The Podcast of the Year! This episode is dedicated to all you guys who made it happen!!! It features all the stories that you submitted over the fortnight. We hope we've done justice to all! Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT 2007 43 Indicast43 http://www.theindicast.com Project England worked out pretty well for Tata as CSN lost the 9 round bidding war. Abhishek gives us the complete low-down on what ever happened with the deal. We also spent sometime talking about the Ranji Final where almost almost half of the Indian cricket team had descended. Geofferey boycott, Vinod Kambli, Vengsarkar, Tendulkar family, and Rahul Dravid played a cameo apperance as well...For the first time, We rant about technology. How could microsoft disable the Office 2007 beta without any notice and why is google asking for $2 or more an Indicast adwords campaign? Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT 23:05 2007 42 Indicast42 http://www.theindicast.com Sachin's back in form and peaking at the right time. He has always had a good time at the world cups and I guess this world cup is going to be business as usual for him. Mean while, Abshishek's name is missing from the voter list even though he has a voter registration. So he couldn't get a say in democracy this time. My parents had to go through the same during the elections as well. Debashish Chakraborty joined us on Indicast as a guest to tell us all about Indibloggies. Indibloggies were started by him in 2003 and have become an annual online event. Its like the Oscars for the Indian Blogworld. Fri, 2 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT 2007 41 Indicast41 http://www.theindicast.com After a long weekend and the Republic Day Celebrations, we got together to record an episodes with opinions on the latest thats happening on the Idiot box. While I like SRK's KBC style, my dad's not happy with his hugs and massages for the contestants. Amitabh would never do that is his arguement. KBC probably has the most product placements that I have seen ever. Is it a good thing though? Besides that, I loved the song SRK's KBC song Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT 2007 40 Indicast40 http://www.theindicast.com Welcome to the fastest Indicast Episode! You may hear a few horns and disturbances on your way to the last minute coz Aditya is in a cafe using "chori ka wi-fi"!!! The story of the week has been how Hutchison Telecom like a lump of jaggery has attracted ants from all corners of the globe! Essar, Reliance, hinduja, Vodafone all want to taste some success in the telecom sector and Hutchison is enjoying the attention. We predict a bidding war and Mr. Li, the owner has all reasons to be happy! Mumbai Marathon, the biggest event in the country will kick off on Jan 21, and will see 30,000 runners including the likes of Anil Ambani. So, what's special? RFID!!! Listen to know more!!! Sun, 21 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT 2007 39 Indicast39 http://www.theindicast.com Google has been named as the best company to work for on this planet... Free food, massage, unlimited sick leaves, and that's only a start...Can India inculcate a google like culture in one of its companies? Aditya thinks the Indian mobile market is over hyped and well, I think otherwise! Our Podcast turns out to be a mini debate between the two of us and we decided to release it as it is! We also discuss why the concept of Ring Tone is so amusing! And why can they can get to your nerves!..A phone which tells you whether it is safe for you to drive after a couple of drinks. Now, that's what we call a value added service! Listen to know more! Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT 21:51 2007 38 Indicast38 http://www.theindicast.com This episode is one of the breezy ones which covers everything from the kumbh mela in India to why Tiger Woods may be charged with performance enhancing surgery! We also talk about our favourite topic, the aviation industry and why can't our airlines land when fog hits the sky when aircrafts across the world comfortably land on a lesser known airport in Tibet under near zero visibility conditions. Sun, 7 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT 2006 37 Indicast37 http://www.theindicast.com We dedicate this episode to the year 2006 which has been a record of sorts for India! We pick the best and the worst stories of the year and keep it simple. Business, Politics, Sports, Sensex, Aviation, Munnabhai, Saurav dada, the highs, the lows of India in 2006. Listen, enjoy and a bear hug to all you listeners for being with us! A happy new year. Sun, 31 Dec 2006 19:30:35 GMT 2006 36 Indicast36 http://www.theindicast.com India is making NEWS for the right and the wrong reasons. We discuss business, politics, and cricket in this episode. SRK, Big B, Sanju baba, Greg Chappel, Wal Mart, TATA, et al Tue, 5 Dec 2006 15:30:35 GMT 2006 35 Indicast35 http://www.theindicast.com If doctors take the Hippocratic oath vowing ethical practice of medicine, do Lawyers have a similar oath? Professionally, the 77 year old criminal lawyer, Ram Jethmalani has every right to defend Manu Sharma. But, does his profession see client above truth and justice? You tell us. Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:30:35 GMT 2006 34 Indicast34 http://www.theindicast.com We at Indicast try to figure out the reason behind the death epidemic and more importantly what can be done to avert the crisis. There are a million unanswered questions. We'll leave it at that. You guys decide what to make of it. Fri, 10 Nov 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 33 Indicast33 http://www.theindicast.com Indicast celebrates one year!!! Indicast style salaam to all our listeners who have stayed with us throughout! Keep those comments coming in. We love em all. Also, we have created a record of sorts in this podcast. It is one of those pacy episodes with a file size that wont annoy you! It is that time of the year when India gets a face lift literally. The festival of lights and fire crackers lightens up the country. And with it comes sweets and the faral! Diwali shopping is a trend which all Indians look forward to and live up to it in style by saving some bucks for the D day. I went shopping too and learnt that shopping is a social science! Listen to know more! While an Asian has been awarded with the Nobel Peace prize, we discuss the reasons why Gandhi missed the bus. Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 32 Indicast32 http://www.theindicast.com Our first podcast with both of us sitting face to face...so it definitely was weird to begin with but we eased up as time passed . We start with a few HR issues that start ups like ours face. Belated Gandhijayanti and a very Happy Dry Day!! Whats up with national holiday's being Dry Days? We consistently digress from one topic to the next and have maintained the tradition in this podcast as well...An arranged marriage is a marriage where the marital partners are chosen by others based on considerations other than the pre-existing mutual attraction of the partners. We can visualise an american teenager after reading the definition exclaim, "Phew! That stuff still happens?" But, here in India, this concept is not only age old, but, apparently more successful than love marriages! We have some interesting stories to share. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 31 Indicast31 http://www.theindicast.com Gandhi. Poora naam, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Munnabhai, the cult Indian movie has injected a dose of Gandhigiri in India. A nation of billion people is bombarded with news from all media vehicles on how Gandhigiri rocks in todays world of deception. Gandhi had moved a nation to action through his out of the box style of protests against the British non-violence and integrity being his weapons of choice. Munnabhai relives Gandhian philosophy in the 21st Century. We at Indicast try to brainstorm a few scenerios where Gandhigiri would work and where it would not be a good idea! Fri, 15 Sep 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 30 Indicast30 http://www.theindicast.com Ganapati Bappa Moriya! Thats the mantra in India for the week. There is no festival which is celebrated with more pomp and vigour than the Ganesh Chaturti. People from all age groups participate in programmes to exhibit their talent on millions of different stages across the country. India is immune to blaring loudspeakers at 12:30 in the night during these 10 days! Bal Thakrey is in the news again. Hang on. Dont have any pre conceived notions. This time, he is in the NEWS for the right reasons. The authorities at Shirdi may not have the last laugh after all! Listen to know more. Well, on a lighter note, we discuss a very interesting article that Fortune carries in its current issue. It says one in five will interrupt sex to take a phone call!!! Fri, 01 Sep 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 29 Indicast29 http://www.theindicast.com The Gods must be crazy! Well, that's what a rational man in his right minds would say to his god fearing friend if the latter were to believe in the "Mahim Sweet-Water Miracle"! We, at Indicast are God fearing men as well, but, we fear science as much as we do God! There is a thin line between science and supernatural and we are careful not to disappoint God by believing in his "miracles" blindly! 20th August, 2006 marked the end of an era. Narayan Murthy, the founder and now, Chief Mentor of Infosys will not be on the payroll of Infosys anymore. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna(KANK) inspires a husband to shoot his wife! Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT 24:12 2006 28 Indicast28 http://www.theindicast.com Damn! They spend millions in advertising and nobody seems to care. And, now, suddenly they breed a few bacteria in their products and the country sits up to take notice! Well, I don't know whether advertising helps increase sales, but, negative publicity can sure hinder sales! Pepsi and Coke, the notorious giants are in the News again. In this episode we have mentioned a few statistics from the CSE reports and a few other blogs. It wasn't hard to conclude that it is far safer to have a glass of pepsi that to have a cup of tea! We enter the 60th year of independence! Aditya rattles off interesting bits of trivia about the country. I play the devil's advocate. Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 27 Indicast27 http://www.theindicast.com An MBA is the "in thing" in India among the "eager minds of tomorrow". We are not complaining. We hold that degree too. What we are against is the unprofessional methods of conditioning these eager minds to pick one B School from the other by publishing half baked survey reports based on perceptions and sheer lack of homework. Tue, 01 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 26 Indicast26 http://www.theindicast.com Hope. It's a funny word, isn't it? it's valium for some and marinjuna for others. It's dope. It's contagious. It spreads. It's an inspiration. Mumbai is on it... because it doesn't have a choice... because it can't afford a nervous breakdown. Mumbai is hurt. It is seething. We hope it is not immune. We hope some day we all will start asking questions. We hope that we, mumbaikars stop taking ourselves for granted and not just "Move on". Fri, 21 Jul 2006 22:24:05 GMT 18:20 2006 25 Indicast25 http://www.theindicast.com When it comes to supply chain, only God can beat em. But, we couldnt interview God. So, we spoke to the second in command, Mr. Raghunath Medghe, the President of the Dabbawala Association, Mumbai. Following is an excerpt from an article from the Forbes Magazine: Mumbai's "tiffinwallahs" have achieved a level of service to which Western businesses can only aspire. "Efficient organization" is not the first thought that comes to mind in India, but when the profit motive is given free rein, anything is possible. To appreciate Indian efficiency at its best, watch the tiffinwallahs at work. Mon, 3 Jul 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 24 Indicast24 http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a long time. Blame it on my laptop which completed its 5th Anniversary and I had to gift it with a new Hard Disk and adorn it with a few accessories. Yeah, it was a costly affair, but, what the heck? We are back! Thank you for all the comments and the patience! "I am a cheerleader, I am a promoter, I am a salesman, I am a debt collector, I am a father confessor and there are other aspects I still have to discover," Annan has said in describing his job. Will Shashi Tharoor join the select few from across the globe to head the most important post in the United Nations? We, at Indicast root for him. Also, Bollywood doesnt stop amazing us especially when its an item girl. When Rakhee did it to a girl, it's a kiss. When Mika does it to Rakhi, it's blasphemy! We try to get our minds to decipher this anamoly. I love it when when we talk on topic as diverse as the ones we covered today. Also to spice it up a bit check out this Rakhi Sawant interview on YouTube. I love the reason she gives for being an item girl. "Mujhe Gaana Pasand hain na". Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:24:05 GMT 22:00 2006 23 Indicast23 http://www.theindicast.com Today, I walked past waiting patients to the quadrangle at the heart of AIIMS, where striking doctors prepare to go hungry for another night. There were candles all around, remnants of a quiet vigil from an hour ago. Little groups of students huddled everywhere, some on benches, others stretched out on red carpets in the centre of the ground. Around them, strung up everywhere, are banners. There's a joke painted on one. It's about Manmohan Singh telling George W Bush of a plan to send Indians to the moon next year. "How many," asks Bush. "100," Singh replies. "25 OBCs, 20 SCs, 15 STs, 5 handicapped, 5 sports personnel, 2 Kashmiri migrants, 8 politicians, 18 generals and, if possible, 2 astronauts." Another poster read: "I am leaving for the US. I was disowned by my own country." This is what it has come to? Mon, 29 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 22 Indicast22 http://www.theindicast.com One fine morning, the 19 year old Harvard sophomore, Kaavya Vishwanathan wrote a book, got rich, got famous, and then, got caught. While she seems to have been only "inspired" by one of her favourite authors and that the similarities between her book, 'How Opal Mehta Got kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life' and Sophie Kinsella's 'Can You Keep a Secret' were only coincidental, we at indicast discuss the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism. The NGO that we researched about this week is by the name of Apne Aap, an NGO which has taken up the daring initiative to end sex-trafficking in India. Sat, 13 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 21 Indicast21 http://www.theindicast.com With the summer season at its peak, this May, has been an eventful one for the shining brand called 'India'. In the past couple of years, India has appeared in more publications and magazines across the world than it has in the past 8-10 years put together! Was India built in a day? We discuss India and its tryst with fame in this episode. Sat, 06 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 20 Indicast20 http://www.theindicast.com The summer has always been hot but this time around adding fuel to the fire is the daily load shedding ritual for about 3 hours. I have heard stories where 8 hour load shedding has become a norm. So we decided to take that topic up and present our views on it. I tried hard but couldnt help giving out a few numbers. Abhishek has the honour of hosting the show this time. You will also hear dogs barking in the background for about 2 mins, those are my two dobermans. I tried but couldnt clear the barking from the original recording. Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 19 Indicast19 http://www.theindicast.com Has the Indian judicial system become like a cricket umpire where a few bad decision are part of the game? Killers are being let go and then rearrested, rape sentences are being handed out like the christmas cake. And to top it, the quota system is back. We are for merit based selection but at the same time the under previleged have to be helped out. Abhishek presents a solution. What do you say? Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT 2006 18 Indicast18 http://www.theindicast.com For this episode we have picked up two topics concerning women but one of them remains a big issue while the other one is a "fabricated" issue by the traditional media. The sentencing in the Marine drive rape case caught our eye and Abhishek went on a number hunt to get a few facts while I took a look into the Indian Penal Code and its definition of rape. The other topic we cover was about the goof-ups at the lakme India Fashion week. In fact, we were in two minds while talking about it since the traditional media and the politician hyped it up so much but we had to tell them to shut up, let go and move on!! Thu, 6 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com 2006 17 Indicast17 We are (like any other Indian) passionate about cricket. So we had initially planned this episode to be about what we feel about the Young Team India. But as it happened, we recorded this episode the same day that Team India was embarrassed by a depleted England team so it ended up being a rant. Then the second topic that we squeezed in was the Miss India Contest. Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT 24:20 http://www.theindicast.com 2006 16 Indicast16 This week we aren't late and had a guest with us for this show. A friend of ours, Shalin Mody, works at NASA and we had him over to chat about his experiences. We didn't go into details about ISRO and talked generally about space exploration. The topics covered are Asteroid mission being cancelled, zero gravity, space tourism, Vision for Space explroation. Sun, 12 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT 19:00 2006 15 Indicast15 http://www.theindicast.com Its becoming a habit for us to release episodes with a sorry for the delay but this is the last time. A lot of things happened but nothing that we could talk about for 15 mins entirely with boring you people so what we have done is spent time on several topic. So here is Indicasts episode #15 for you. Sun, 05 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT 2006 14 Indicast14 http://www.theindicast.com Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT ( don't ask me why they dont call it NNPT) is in the spotlight with Bush's upcoming visit to India. He's coming over to discuss some Indo-US nucleur deal for civilian use. So we just thought about giving you some gyan about what the hell NPT is about and why is this such a big deal. Thu, 09 Feb 2006 17:24:05 GMT 2006 13 Indicast13 http://www.theindicast.com we decided to talk about Rang De Basanti (needless to say that its a must watch) and discuss a few facts that were mentioned in the movie (dont worry we havent given out the plot) but just picked on a particular thing that a character says. The discussion lead us to talk about IAS and how to get into it and importantly discuss facts about it. Thu, 02 Feb 2006 17:24:05 GMT 2006 12 Indicast12 http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a 3 week hiatus and we apologise for that but the schedules kept clashing. Thats the trouble having a sales guy as a co-host ;-) . We used up this entire episode to talk about things that happened in 2005. Rediff had a special end of the year article about various things about 2005. So we picked the top ten things that made us (Indians) happy in 2005 and top ten trends that rocked India in 2005. Sun, 08 Jan 2006 17:24:05 GMT 2005 11 Indicast11 http://www.theindicast.com The vocalist for fabulous Indus Creed and the awesome Alms for Shanti, Uday Benegal, makes an appearance on IndiCast. I had asked him to join us to talk about the past, present and future of his band and also about generral things happening around him. As usual, we had to battle a few technical problems and had to edit a few awesome moments out of our chat. This episode does contain a few fucks here and there and it would have ruined the episode if we took them away. Morover, almost 75% of the people who took our survey said they would be fine with it. Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com 2005 10 Indicast10 We are huge Sachin fans so we decided to dedicate this episode to Sachin Tendulkar for reaching yet another milestone. The episode contains snippets of sachin's first mainstream interview with Tom Alter and also various incidences as experienced by many greats like Anil Kumble, Dravid, Richie Benaud. Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com 2005 9 Indicast9 After struggling to get good internet connection, we were able to find a stable connection and record this episode. I invited a college friend, Porus Satwe, to talk about talk NRI related finance stuff. This porbably might be the most informative IndiCast to date. Porus explains the difference between NRE,NRO and FCNR accounts as it relates to NRIs. We had decided to talk about investing options as well but had to cut it short and follow it up in another episode. Thu, 1 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com 2005 8 Indicast8 I am back from India (grrrrr...) and back to my routine in the US. It was too short a trip but I was amazed at the changes I could see and feel all over the place so I persuaded abhishek to talk about it so its just me and him this week. We decided to mix it up a bit and let Abhishek play the host for this episode. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT 2005 7 Indicast7 http://www.theindicast.com Rashmi Bansal and Vikram Nanivadekar (Nani) shared the mic with me for this episode. I wanted to be a bit adventurous and record this episode at CCD (my cousin who is in SYJC says calling it Cafe Coffe Day is being unhip) but it was just too noisy so we recorded it at JAMs office. Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT 2005 6 Indicast6 http://www.theindicast.com Toral Mehta from Apprentice joins Indicast for an informal talk, her experiences as a desi on Apprentice. She shares the good and bad experiences that she had on one of US's most popular TV reality show. Sun, 06 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT 2005 5 Indicast5 http://www.theindicast.com The episode features a talk on FDI and our support for it especially for retail industry. We have protected ourselves for a long time and its time to play with the foriegn companies. We change the topic and talk about Sachins response to the critical media. We love you Sachin. Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:24:05 GMT 2005 4 Indicast4 http://www.theindicast.com Ash joins Indicast as a guest speaker and to discuss Blog Quake Day. Its an appeal to all Indian bloggers to collaborate for charity for earthquake victims. Aditya and Ash also discuss about how Indians are the 4th happiest in the world inspite of all the disaster happening around the country. Ash says we are just a tolerant bunch. Sun, 23 Oct 2005 09:24:05 GMT 25:09 2005 3 http://www.theindicast.com Indicast3 Aditya and Abhishek discuss the hottest topic in Indian blogosphere - IIPM with reference to freedom of speech and defamation. Episode also features a movement to get Mithun as James Bond. Sun, 16 Oct 2005 03:24:05 GMT 35:17 2005 2 Indicast2 http://www.theindicast.com This is the episode #2 of Indicast. Shailesh Rege joins us as a guest to discuss low cost airlines . Aditya and Abhishek discuss about Indians news channels and George Bush This is the episode #2 of Indicast. Shailesh Rege joins us as a guest to discuss low cost airlines . Aditya and Abhishek discuss about Indians news channels and George Bush Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:10:05 GMT 7:10 2005 1 Indicast1 http://www.theindicast.com Dhishum joins me fro the first time as my co-host. The episode includes India china discussion, Sharukh Khan's DVD, Paheli oscar nomination and tabloids. Dhishum joins me fro the first time as my co-host. The episode includes India china discussion, Sharukh Khan's DVD, Paheli oscar nomination and tabloids. Mon, 03 Oct 2005 01:10:05 GMT 28:07 2005 0 Indicast0 http://www.theindicast.com This episode includes introduction to IndiCast, basically saying what it is and how my friends ditched me today This episode includes introduction to IndiCast, basically saying what it is and how my friends ditched me today Sun, 25 Sep 2005 01:10:05 GMT 03:57